Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $14.75 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,379 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,952,273,000 after acquiring an additional 326,623 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,946,717,000 after buying an additional 104,697 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,107,389,000. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $947,821,000 after purchasing an additional 61,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $871,063,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME traded down $4.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $261.48. 3,475,218 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,155,388. The company has a market capitalization of $94.23 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CME. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of CME Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $301.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $247.73.

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.