Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 945 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 966.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $200.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,259,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,521,588. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.52. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $199.87 and its 200 day moving average is $207.00. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $223.80.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total transaction of $130,936.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,821,771.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.