Lake Street Private Wealth LLC Cuts Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Lake Street Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Second Half Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,737,000. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,823,000. Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,891,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $196.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.41. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.11 and a 12 month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.75 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $226.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $206.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus lifted their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total transaction of $130,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,821,771.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total value of $130,936.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,008 shares in the company, valued at $2,821,771.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700. Company 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.