Rathbones Group PLC Has $248.64 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC has reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 1.1%, selling 10,092 shares, and now holds approximately $248.64 million worth of CME stock.
• Insider trades revealed that directors sold a total of 5,750 shares worth over $1.57 million in the past 90 days, indicating a slight decrease in their positions.
• CME Group has recently reported a 10.4% increase in revenue year-over-year for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $2.96, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 937,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,092 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up 1.2% of Rathbones Group PLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Rathbones Group PLC owned about 0.26% of CME Group worth $248,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter valued at $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $273.92. 2,055,412 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,345,802. The stock has a market cap of $98.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $204.16 and a one year high of $290.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $275.53 and a 200-day moving average of $266.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 48.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,450 shares of company stock worth $676,663 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CME. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays set a $298.00 price target on CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

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.