Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 93.5%, owning only 1,654 shares after selling 23,725 shares in the first quarter, with holdings valued at $439,000.
• The quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share will be paid on September 25th, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.
• In the latest earnings report, CME Group beat analysts' consensus with $2.96 EPS, surpassing estimates and achieving a 10.4% year-over-year revenue increase.

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 93.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,654 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,725 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 612.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter worth $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value of $294,552.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $863,651.04. This trade represents a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,750 shares of company stock worth $1,576,294. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4%

CME traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $282.21. 1,488,447 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,048,058. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $275.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.12. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.77 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.40%.

CME Group 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.