Franklin Resources Inc. Has $928.31 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Franklin Resources slightly increased its CME Group stake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, holding 3.4 million shares valued at about $928.3 million.
• Several insiders sold shares recently, including CEO Terrence A. Duffy and insider Hilda Harris Piell; insiders have sold 44,044 shares worth about $13.3 million over the last three months.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.36 and revenue of $1.88 billion, both above expectations, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,399,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,281 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.94% of CME Group worth $928,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 191.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.29.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $257.40 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $93.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $244.56 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company's 50-day moving average price is $288.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.67.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

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