Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Sells 20,453 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. sold 20,453 shares of CME Group Inc., reducing its stake by 3.3%, and now holds approximately 592,991 shares worth $157.3 million, constituting 1.6% of its portfolio.
• Insiders, including Directors Daniel G. Kaye and Phyllis M. Lockett, sold shares of CME Group, with Kaye's sale reflecting a 12% decrease in his position and Lockett's indicating a 25.43% drop.
• Analysts have varying ratings on CME Group, with estimates showing four sell ratings, nine hold ratings, and four buy ratings, alongside a price target range that suggests mixed sentiment toward the stock's future performance.

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 592,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,453 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for 1.6% of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.16% of CME Group worth $157,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,643,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,190,661,000 after purchasing an additional 400,737 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 89.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,923,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,113,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,091,401,000 after purchasing an additional 363,130 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,943,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,788,000 after purchasing an additional 403,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,135,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $728,260,000 after purchasing an additional 621,713 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 256 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded down $1.29 on Thursday, hitting $273.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,325,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,330,801. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $275.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.90. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.44 and a 52 week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm's 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

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.