Guinness Asset Management LTD Reduces Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management LTD holds a stock position in CME Group Inc. worth approximately $267.32 million, accounting for 5.2% of its total holdings.
• CME Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.9%, set to be paid on September 25th.
• Recent analyst reports show mixed ratings for CME Group, with price targets ranging from $260.60 to $303.00, reflecting varying outlooks on the stock’s performance.

Guinness Asset Management LTD decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,008,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,003 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises approximately 5.2% of Guinness Asset Management LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned about 0.28% of CME Group worth $267,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of CME stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $262.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,537,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,812,941. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $273.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.59. 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 company has a market cap of $94.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.43. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $212.38 and a one year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,734,436.80. This represents a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 256 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CME. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup upped 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. Finally, Barclays set a $298.00 price target on shares of CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $260.60.

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.