CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio reduced its stake in CME Group by 7.4% in Q4, selling 8,483 shares and ending the quarter with 105,595 shares valued at $28.84 million.
• CME beat quarterly estimates with $3.36 EPS versus $3.11 expected and $1.88 billion in revenue (up 14.5% year-over-year), and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20, yield 1.8%).
• Institutional investors own 87.75% of the stock (Vanguard holds ~35.9M shares), and analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $305.29 versus the recent share price near $289.54.

Strs Ohio reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,483 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio's holdings in CME Group were worth $28,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CME. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,895,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,802,366,000 after acquiring an additional 588,509 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 2.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,300,450,000 after purchasing an additional 130,848 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $1,006,932,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,381,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $913,548,000 after purchasing an additional 20,213 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in CME Group by 23.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,830,323 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $764,725,000 after purchasing an additional 528,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.6%

CME Group stock opened at $289.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $104.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.17 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $303.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $305.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Profile

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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