Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 966.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $193.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.64.

CME Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of CME traded up $3.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $199.83. 2,373,846 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,146,911. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $223.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $198.38 and its 200-day moving average is $206.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total value of $211,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,858,336.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total value of $211,520.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,241 shares in the company, valued at $3,858,336.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,290 shares of company stock valued at $2,957,300 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.