CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Position Cut by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co reduced its holdings in CME Group by 16.6%, selling 252,554 shares in the first quarter, bringing their total to approximately $337 million.
• Several other institutional investors increased their stakes, with Golden State Wealth Management growing their holdings by 612.5% during the same period.
• CME Group's stock received mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus price target set at $261.93 and several firms adjusting their ratings between "buy" and "sell."

Fayez Sarofim & Co reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,270,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 252,554 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned approximately 0.35% of CME Group worth $337,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of CME Group by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,413,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $374,951,000 after buying an additional 71,444 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,081,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $552,075,000 after acquiring an additional 33,336 shares during the period. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $5,289,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the transaction, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,750 shares of company stock worth $1,576,294 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Barclays set a $298.00 price target on CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ CME traded up $1.26 on Friday, reaching $282.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,488,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,219. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $275.84 and a 200-day moving average of $265.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.77 and a 1 year high of $290.79. 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 (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued 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 is presently 48.40%.

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.