CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Stiles Financial Services Inc

Key Points

• Stiles Financial Services Inc decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 7.1%, owning 13,625 shares valued at approximately $3.75 million after selling 1,043 shares in the second quarter.
• Several institutional investors initiated or increased their stakes in CME Group, with AIA Group Ltd increasing its position by 17.8% and Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosting theirs by 256.9%.
• CME Group reported earnings of $2.96 per share for its last quarter, exceeding estimates, and recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, yielding 1.9%.

Stiles Financial Services Inc decreased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,043 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.3% of Stiles Financial Services Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Stiles Financial Services Inc's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 256.9% in the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636 shares during the period. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in CME Group by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,510 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CME Group from $276.00 to $266.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $303.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on CME Group from $281.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $279.23.

CME Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $268.84 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $269.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.10. 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 company has a market capitalization of $96.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.41. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $290.79.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,056,962. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group 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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