Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 6,191 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 41% during Q1, holding 8,909 shares valued at approximately $2.36 million after selling 6,191 shares.
• Significant increases in holdings were observed from other institutional investors, with GQG Partners LLC increasing its stake by over 7,600%, now owning 2.2 million shares.
• CME Group reported quarterly earnings of $2.96 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a declared quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share set to be paid on September 25th.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 41.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,191 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $2,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 122.2% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $260.60.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.94 on Friday, reaching $261.53. 3,139,055 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,825,972. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.38 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The company's 50 day moving average is $271.98 and its 200-day moving average is $270.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.43. 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 data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,849,763.88. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About CME Group

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.