Van ECK Associates Corp Has $17.76 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,176 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in CME Group were worth $17,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 966.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1,233.3% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $208.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.49. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.73 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $214.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.67.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.80.

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.