Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Sells 2,368 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB has reduced its stake in CME Group by 2.0%, resulting in ownership of 117,220 shares valued at approximately $31 million.
• Institutional investors own 87.75% of CME Group, with significant increases in positions from GQG Partners LLC (7,676.3%) and Wellington Management Group LLP (370.5%) during the first quarter.
• CME Group announced a $1.25 quarterly dividend, leading to an annualized payout of $5.00 per share and a dividend yield of 1.9%.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ decreased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,368 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in CME Group were worth $31,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 256.9% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares during the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management acquired a new position in CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in CME Group by 17.8% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,416,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on shares of CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded down $0.26 on Friday, hitting $266.51. 1,562,708 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,931,839. The company has a market cap of $96.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.44. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $275.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.36. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.75 and a 1-year high of $290.79.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.40%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,734,436.80. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Company 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.