Jackson Square Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Jackson Square Partners LLC reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 8.6%, owning 32,387 shares valued at approximately $8.59 million after selling 3,040 shares in Q1.
• Insider activity saw director Charles P. Carey sell 3,000 shares at an average price of $272.56, marking a 35.71% decrease in his position.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for CME Group, with Barclays setting a price target of $298.00 and Piper Sandler raising theirs to $296.00, reflecting diverse outlooks on the stock.

Jackson Square Partners LLC lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,040 shares during the period. Jackson Square Partners LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $8,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in shares of CME Group by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 504 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in CME Group by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in CME Group by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,413,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $374,951,000 after purchasing an additional 71,444 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,081,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $552,075,000 after purchasing an additional 33,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,289,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. 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 reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note 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 note on Saturday, May 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $1.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $282.21. 1,488,447 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,050,219. 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 $101.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $275.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.67. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.77 and a 52-week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,861,470. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,750 shares of company stock worth $1,576,294. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.