Cresset Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 17.6% during Q1, now holding 8,023 shares valued at approximately $2.13 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Wayfinding Financial LLC and Golden State Wealth Management LLC, have recently increased their holdings or initiated new stakes in CME Group, indicating strong institutional interest.
• CME Group's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.96 and revenue of $1.69 billion, exceeding consensus estimates, while a $1.25 quarterly dividend was also declared.

Cresset Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 17.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,718 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $2,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CME. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in CME Group by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 86,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,190,000 after purchasing an additional 19,533 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in CME Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,095,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $254,314,000 after purchasing an additional 29,662 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 23,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,423,000 after purchasing an additional 5,643 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 14,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,332,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in CME Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 110,183 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,588,000 after purchasing an additional 12,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of CME traded down $3.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $269.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,591,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,923,555. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.50. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.44 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $97.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.