CME Group Inc. $CME Holdings Cut by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi has reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 26.4%, selling 576,014 shares and now holding approximately 1.6 million shares valued at $429.9 million.
• Institutional ownership of CME Group is notably high at 87.75%, with several investors significantly increasing their stakes, including GQG Partners, which raised theirs by 7,676.3%.
• CME Group's latest earnings report exceeded estimates, showing an EPS of $2.96 against a consensus of $2.91, indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.4%.

Amundi decreased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 26.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,602,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 576,014 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.44% of CME Group worth $429,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $366,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 0.8% in the 1st 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 period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $260.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 256 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were bought 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 trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.64 during trading on Monday, hitting $262.58. 1,972,766 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,306,944. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.38 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The company has a market cap of $94.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $274.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.15.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The firm 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.