Oak Harvest Investment Services Decreases Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Oak Harvest Investment Services reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 53.3%, selling 29,024 shares and holding 25,388 shares worth approximately $6.73 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Wayfinding Financial LLC and Golden State Wealth Management LLC, have also initiated or increased their positions in CME Group during the first quarter.
• Analysts remain optimistic with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price averaging around $261.93, despite recent stock ratings adjustments by prominent firms.

Oak Harvest Investment Services trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 53.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 29,024 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services' holdings in CME Group were worth $6,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Down 1.2%

CME Group stock traded down $3.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $266.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,753,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,319,193. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $275.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.88. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.75 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The stock has a market cap of $96.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.44.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CME. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

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.