CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 5.4% during the first quarter, now owning 53,726 shares valued at approximately $14.26 million.
• Research analysts have varied ratings on CME shares, with a consensus average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.
• CME Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing a 1.9% dividend yield, payable on September 25th.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,726 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,090 shares during the quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in CME Group were worth $14,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 7,676.3% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,205,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $584,975,000 after buying an additional 2,176,685 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in 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. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 32,941.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,858,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $493,144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853,261 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $218,842,000. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP boosted its holdings in CME Group by 79.4% in the 1st quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 1,730,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $459,003,000 after purchasing an additional 765,773 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 258,196 shares in the company, valued at $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 own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Down 2.1%

CME traded down $5.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $261.94. 1,633,679 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,882,480. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $274.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.99. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.38 and a 1 year high of $290.79. 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 market cap of $94.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.43.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on shares of CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued 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 an average target price of $261.93.

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.