Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Sells 39,583 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA reduced its stake in CME Group by 43.0% in the first quarter, selling 39,583 shares and leaving it with 52,389 shares worth about $15.47 million.
• CME Group reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $3.36 versus $3.11 expected and revenue of $1.88 billion versus $1.77 billion expected, while revenue rose 14.5% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, or $5.20 annualized, for a yield of about 2.2%; meanwhile, analysts remain mixed but overall rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $300.94.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA cut its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 43.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,389 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,583 shares during the period. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA's holdings in CME Group were worth $15,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in CME Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in CME Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 26.8% during the third quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $236.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $267.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.28. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $218.31 and a one year high of $329.16. The stock has a market cap of $85.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler set a $320.00 price target on CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $300.94.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Company 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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