Conning Inc. Reduces Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Conning Inc. cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,611 shares during the period. CME Group makes up 1.3% of Conning Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Conning Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $37,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,952,273,000 after acquiring an additional 326,623 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,946,717,000 after acquiring an additional 104,697 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,923,047,000 after acquiring an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,107,389,000. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its stake in CME Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $947,821,000 after buying an additional 61,908 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 sale, the director owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at $863,651.04. This represents a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.4%

CME traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $274.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,234,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,194,406. The stock's 50-day moving average is $276.23 and its 200-day moving average is $257.62. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.17 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.44.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $259.87.

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.