CME Group Inc. $CME Holdings Lowered by Credit Agricole S A

Credit Agricole S A trimmed its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 55.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 205,209 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A’s holdings in CME Group were worth $44,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 612.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $270.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $275.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.44 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $97.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on CME Group and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $261.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Profile

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.