Mizuho Securities USA LLC Trims Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in CME Group by 15.5%, selling 5,300 shares and leaving them with 28,854 shares valued at approximately $7.65 million.
• CME Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.96 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and showing a 10.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25, translating to an annualized dividend of $5.00 and a yield of 1.8%, set to be paid on September 25th.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,300 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $7,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of CME Group by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,923,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 32,941.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,858,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $493,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853,261 shares during the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP raised its position in shares of CME Group by 79.4% in the 1st quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 1,730,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $459,003,000 after purchasing an additional 765,773 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of CME Group by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $747,744,000 after purchasing an additional 648,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,135,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $728,260,000 after purchasing an additional 621,713 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,196 shares in the company, valued at $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,215. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,750 shares of company stock worth $1,576,294 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock traded up $1.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $282.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,488,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,048,058. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $275.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.12. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.77 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of 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 shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

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.