Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 42,317 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 1.4%, owning approximately 3 million shares worth around $813.8 million after selling 42,317 shares in the 1st quarter.
• CME Group reported $2.96 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue up 10.4% year-over-year reaching $1.69 billion.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, set to be paid on September 25, with a current annualized yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,067,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 42,317 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.85% of CME Group worth $813,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 3,011.4% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 6,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 6,625 shares during the last quarter. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $233,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $915,000. Teza Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 233.6% during the 1st quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 3,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,659,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 17,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,734,436.80. This represents a 40.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Down 2.1%

CME opened at $261.94 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $94.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.43. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.38 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $274.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.15.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. CME Group's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on shares of CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

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.

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