CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Farmers Trust Co.

Key Points

• Farmers Trust Co. has reduced its stake in CME Group by 4.1%, now holding 28,820 shares valued at approximately $7.9 million, making it the firm's 14th largest investment.
• Insiders, including General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus and another executive, have recently sold 13,043 shares of CME Group, indicating a decrease in insider ownership.
• Analysts have set varied target prices for CME Group, with Barclays at $298.00 and Oppenheimer at $303.00, while the average rating for the stock remains at "Hold".

Farmers Trust Co. cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,222 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up approximately 1.5% of Farmers Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Farmers Trust Co.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in CME Group by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 86,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,190,000 after acquiring an additional 19,533 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 186.2% in the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 6,566 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,000. Finally, LM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $822,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,056,962. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total value of $3,229,407.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,734,436.80. This represents a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $260.60.

CME Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $261.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $94.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 4.73 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.60 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $271.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.86.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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