CME Group Inc. $CME Holdings Lowered by Cambiar Investors LLC

Cambiar Investors LLC reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,311 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.8% of Cambiar Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Cambiar Investors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $40,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CME. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $472,000. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at $227,000. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 13.1% in the second quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 57,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,838,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2%

CME stock opened at $284.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.32 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.05.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $320.00 to $319.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.18.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,511.23. The trade was a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.