CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its stake in CME Group by 43.6% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 9,805 shares worth about $2.68 million.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.36 per share beating estimates and revenue of $1.88 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 14.5% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable June 25, and analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $305.29.

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 43.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,571 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings 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. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in CME Group by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its stake in CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $282.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $257.17 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $300.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.46. The stock has a market cap of $102.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is 44.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 7,791 shares of company stock valued at $2,489,421 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $305.29.

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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