Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. Has $29.16 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. reduced its stake in CME Group by 16.9%, owning 105,805 shares valued at approximately $29 million, making it the fund's 3rd largest position.
• Following recent trading activities, analysts have downgraded CME Group's rating, with Wall Street Zen changing it from "hold" to "sell," while UBS Group lowered its price target from $305 to $285.
• CME Group has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25, equating to an annualized yield of 1.9%, with the payout ratio sitting at 48.40%.

Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,508 shares during the period. CME Group makes up 5.3% of Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $29,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter worth about $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 256.9% in the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth approximately $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth approximately $258,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,416,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $261.01. 278,702 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,274,337. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.94 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The stock has a market cap of $94.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.43. 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 $271.66 and its 200 day moving average is $270.86.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on shares of CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $260.60.

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.