Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 13.7% during the second quarter, now holding 6,700 shares valued at approximately $1.85 million.
• CME Group reported quarterly earnings of $2.96 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 10.4% year-over-year to $1.69 billion.
• The company has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.8% with a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,066 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Natural Investments LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $141,000. Applied Capital LLC FL increased its holdings in CME Group by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 5,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $604,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in CME Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 620,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $169,542,000 after purchasing an additional 9,594 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $271.45 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.41. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.22.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. Citigroup upgraded CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on CME Group from $281.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on CME Group from $276.00 to $266.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $281.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 258,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total value of $3,229,407.12. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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