CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Archford Capital Strategies LLC

Key Points

• Archford Capital Strategies LLC significantly reduced its stake in CME Group by 81.3% during the second quarter, ending with 756 shares valued at $208,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Fiduciary Alliance LLC and Merit Financial Group LLC, have increased their positions in CME Group, with overall institutional ownership now at 87.75%.
• Analysts have varied opinions on CME Group's stock, with ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Sell," and an average price target of $268.14.

Archford Capital Strategies LLC lessened its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 81.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 756 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,279 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 23,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,329,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its stake in CME Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 1,755,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $465,747,000 after buying an additional 19,904 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 105.8% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,165,000 after buying an additional 6,132 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 5.0% in the first quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 101,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,971,000 after acquiring an additional 4,819 shares during the period. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth approximately $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,508 shares in the company, valued at $2,470,463.64. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $246.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $268.14.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $272.24 on Tuesday. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $270.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.14. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.94 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.43.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.40%.

CME Group Company 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.

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