Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC Trims Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,765 shares during the quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 7,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,655,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in CME Group by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 11,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. Finally, Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $232.71. 1,908,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,024,355. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $83.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The stock's 50-day moving average is $233.15 and its 200-day moving average is $219.51.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CME shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $229.27.

CME Group Company 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.