Empire Life Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,938 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 1.4% of Empire Life Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $21,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have issued reports on CME. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.
View Our Latest Stock Report on CME Group
CME Group Trading Down 1.1%
CME traded down $3.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $281.35. 1,689,085 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,104,146. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $200.50 and a one 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 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $276.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.88.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
CME Group Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,470. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,750 shares of company stock worth $1,576,294. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
About CME Group
(
Free Report)
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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