Marathon Asset Management Ltd Sells 18,098 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 161,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,098 shares during the period. CME Group comprises approximately 1.3% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Marathon Asset Management Ltd's holdings in CME Group were worth $42,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock traded up $1.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $274.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,681,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,208,080. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $275.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $256.68. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $193.17 and a one year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CME. UBS Group boosted their price target on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $258.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 256 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 258,196 shares in the company, valued at $69,849,763.88. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total value of $271,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $790,781.20. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.