Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Sells 18,546 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec has reduced its stake in CME Group by 87.5%, now holding only 2,639 shares valued at approximately $700,000.
• Analyst ratings for CME Group have varied, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target around $261.93, while some have upgraded and others downgraded their outlook.
• CME Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing a 1.9% yield, with the payout date set for September 25th.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec trimmed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 87.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,639 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,546 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in CME Group were worth $700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 1.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 9.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in CME Group by 24.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in CME Group by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $747,744,000 after purchasing an additional 648,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 370.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,653,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $704,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089,935 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CME. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target 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. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted 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. Four research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 256 shares of the company's 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 owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,849,763.88. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8%

CME traded up $2.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $267.62. 1,063,748 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,309,938. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.38 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The stock's 50-day moving average is $275.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.61. The stock has a market cap of $96.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 48.40%.

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.