CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 3.2% in the first quarter, now owning 611,234 shares valued at approximately $160.6 million.
• Large investors like Vanguard Group Inc. and Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD have increased their holdings in CME Group, with Vanguard raising its position by 1.2% and Price T Rowe growing its stake by 89.9%.
• CME Group has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, set to be paid on September 25th, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 611,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,287 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.17% of CME Group worth $160,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 1.4% in the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $273.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,055,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,079,104. The firm has a market cap of $98.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.16 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The firm's 50 day moving average is $275.52 and its 200-day moving average is $267.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.56 earnings per share. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,861,470. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 256 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 258,196 shares in the company, valued at $69,849,763.88. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,450 shares of company stock worth $676,663. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.