CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in CME Group by 31.1%, holding 340,110 shares worth approximately $90.21 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Institutional investors own 87.75% of CME Group's stock, with several funds increasing their positions during the previous quarter.
• CME Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, indicating a strong commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 340,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 153,413 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.09% of CME Group worth $90,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 612.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total transaction of $817,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,824. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,750 shares of company stock worth $1,576,294 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on shares of CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $1.26 during mid-day 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 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 simple moving average of $275.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.12. The stock has a market cap of $101.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.44. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

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.