CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Savant Capital LLC

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC cut its CME Group stake by 67.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 38,072 shares and leaving it with 18,392 shares worth about $5.0 million.
• CME Group recently reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.36 and revenue of $1.88 billion, both above analyst expectations, with revenue up 14.5% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable June 25, while analysts currently hold a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $305.29.

Savant Capital LLC reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 67.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 38,072 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $5,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 26,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,301,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in CME Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 14,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,054,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,983 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,907,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Unified Investment Management increased its stake in CME Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 2,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

More CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced that Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy will present at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange and Fintech Conference on June 4, which keeps the company visible to investors and may reinforce its growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says CME’s planned 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading could attract more institutional crypto volume, which may support future derivatives activity and trading revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CME also lowered margin requirements on gold and silver futures, a move that may help keep trading active during volatile commodity markets but is not clearly a major fundamental catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro commentary from the CME floor highlighted sticky inflation and stronger durable goods data, which could keep Fed policy uncertain and sustain trading activity, but the direct impact on CME stock is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto articles suggesting Bitcoin’s “CME gap” may disappear with round-the-clock trading could reduce the market’s focus on CME-specific weekend price gaps, weakening one of the more visible trading narratives tied to the company’s crypto franchise. Article Title

CME Group Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ CME opened at $273.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $293.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.51. The company has a market capitalization of $99.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.17 and a 12 month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, 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 have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507 in the last ninety days. 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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