New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 44,875 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 548,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44,875 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in CME Group were worth $115,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $215.96. 571,821 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,760,591. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $175.73 and a one year high of $223.80. The firm has a market cap of $77.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $214.59 and a 200-day moving average of $211.89.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a net margin of 57.83% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.70.

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.