CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Cornerstone Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 31.9% during the first quarter, owning 13,000 shares worth approximately $3.45 million after selling 6,100 shares.
• CME Group's most recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $2.96, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.05 and marking a 10.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $1.69 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25, reflecting an annualized dividend of $5.00, with a dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Cornerstone Advisors LLC cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 31.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,100 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4%

CME stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $282.21. 1,488,447 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,050,219. The company has a market capitalization of $101.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.77 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $275.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.67.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. CME Group's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $863,651.04. This trade represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,294 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CME. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

CME Group Company 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.