CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 14.8%, selling 13,300 shares and bringing its total holdings to 76,800 shares, valued at approximately $20.37 million.
• CME Group's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $2.96 earnings per share (EPS), up 10.4% in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, yielding 1.8% annually, with a dividend payout ratio of 48.40%.

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,300 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in CME Group were worth $20,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 612.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at $863,651.04. This represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,750 shares of company stock worth $1,576,294 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CME. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on shares of CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $282.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,488,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,048,058. The company's 50-day moving average is $275.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.12. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.77 and a twelve month 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 $101.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend 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.