Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,235 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 10.7%, selling 2,235 shares and leaving them with 18,675 shares valued at about $4.95 million.
• CME Group reported earnings of $2.96 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 10.4% year-over-year revenue growth to $1.69 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, reflecting a 1.8% yield and a payout ratio of 48.4%.

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,235 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $4,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.0% in the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,546,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.6% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.4% in the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $282.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.77 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $101.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $275.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 48.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,651.04. This represents a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,294 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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