Ridgewood Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Ridgewood Investments LLC reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 32.1%, now holding 3,357 shares worth approximately $925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
• Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of CME Group's stock, with several firms making significant changes to their positions, including Wayfinding Financial LLC and Webster Bank N.A..
• CME Group reported a quarterly EPS of $2.96, exceeding the consensus estimate, with a revenue growth of 10.4% compared to the same period last year.

Ridgewood Investments LLC reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 32.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,584 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its holdings in CME Group by 206.9% during the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,734,436.80. This represents a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $261.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $271.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.81. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.38 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.43.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. CME Group's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid 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 48.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on shares of CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on 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 lowered their price objective on CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $260.60.

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.

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