Parnassus Investments LLC Has $83.83 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Parnassus Investments LLC has reduced its stake in CME Group by 13.9%, holding approximately 315,979 shares valued at $83.83 million.
• A majority of institutional investors currently own 87.75% of CME Group's stock, with significant increases in holdings from firms like Vanguard Group and Wellington Management Group.
• CME Group recently reported earnings of $2.96 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 to be paid on September 25th.

Parnassus Investments LLC cut its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 315,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 50,848 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned 0.09% of CME Group worth $83,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,734,436.80. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $69,849,763.88. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $0.26 on Monday, hitting $266.51. 1,562,708 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,859,420. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.75 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $275.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.50. The company has a market cap of $96.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.43.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. The business's revenue 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.