Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Has $1.23 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $268.34 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $286.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $265.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.25. The company has a market capitalization of $96.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $256.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total transaction of $1,304,836.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,339,164.96. This represents a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total value of $271,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $790,781.20. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,726 shares of company stock worth $8,975,813 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.