CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Groupe la Francaise

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise cut its CME Group stake by 56.6% in the first quarter, selling 10,164 shares and retaining 7,792 shares worth approximately $2.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 87.75% of CME’s stock.
• CME Group reported quarterly earnings of $2.99 per share, beating estimates of $2.91, while revenue reached $1.71 billion versus expectations of $1.68 billion. Revenue increased 0.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with the stock receiving a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $291.81, compared with its reported opening price of $267.79.

Groupe la Francaise lowered its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 56.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,164 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in CME Group were worth $2,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CME. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $291.81.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $267.79 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $218.31 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $96.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $250.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.05.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 260,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

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