CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd lowered its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,742 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of CME Group worth $64,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 612.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:CME traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $274.67. 598,344 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,187,792. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.17 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $276.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.61. 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 has a market capitalization of $98.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Larry G. Gerdes sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $528,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 38,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,207,729.10. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their target price 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $259.87.

CME Group 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.