Cumberland Partners Ltd Decreases Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd has significantly reduced its stake in CME Group Inc by 75%, now owning only 2,000 shares after selling 6,000 shares in the first quarter.
• CME Group reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.96, beating analysts' expectations of $2.91, and achieving a revenue of $1.69 billion, surpassing the estimated $1.68 billion.
• The stock's dividend yield stands at 1.8%, with a recent payout of $1.25 per share, contributing to a total annualized dividend of $5.00.

Cumberland Partners Ltd reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 75.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in CME Group were worth $531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 156,938 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 5,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 38,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,328,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1,847.5% during the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,767,000 after purchasing an additional 38,502 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of CME stock opened at $280.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $276.07 and a 200 day moving average of $264.14. 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 stock has a market cap of $101.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.62 and a twelve month high of $290.79.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,470. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,881,130. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

About CME Group

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.

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