Davis R M Inc. Trims Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Davis R M Inc. decreased its stake in CME Group by 2.0%, selling 1,806 shares and now holds 88,556 shares worth approximately $23.49 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• CME Group's stock experienced a 1.1% increase and has a market capitalization of $100.09 billion with a current ratio and quick ratio both at 1.02.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, which represents an annualized payout of $5.00 and a yield of 1.80%.

Davis R M Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,806 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $23,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 256.9% during the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares during the period. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth $258,000. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $548,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,824. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,651.04. This represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,881,130. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded up $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $280.76. 3,011,041 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,073,115. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.14. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.62 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. The company has a market cap of $101.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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