Equitable Trust Co. Lowers Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 37.3%, now holding 4,170 shares worth approximately $1,149,000.
• Insider Timothy Francis Mccourt and Sunil Cutinho both sold significant shares, with Mccourt's sale representing a 3.83% decrease in ownership and Cutinho's a 40.55% decrease.
• CME Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, with a current yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Equitable Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 37.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,483 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 256.9% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $258,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,416,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total transaction of $98,475.57. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,508 shares in the company, valued at $2,470,463.64. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,440 shares in the company, valued at $4,734,436.80. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $267.18 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $268.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.32. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.94 and a twelve month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $96.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.41.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CME. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup upgraded shares of CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $276.00 to $266.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two 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 $283.71.

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.

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