Arizona State Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 605 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in CME Group were worth $21,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Power Corp of Canada purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.36.

CME Group Stock Down 0.3 %

CME stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $211.54. 186,634 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,761,188. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $213.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.49. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.73 and a 52-week high of $223.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.86%.

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.