Sarasin & Partners LLP Decreases Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners LLP reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 13.5%, owning 1,014,872 shares valued at approximately $279.72 million.
• Analysts have varied projections for CME Group, with Piper Sandler increasing their price target to $296.00 while UBS Group lowered it to $285.00, yielding a consensus price target of $260.60.
• CME Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, reflecting an annual dividend yield of 1.9%.

Sarasin & Partners LLP cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 13.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,014,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 157,718 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for about 2.8% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned about 0.28% of CME Group worth $279,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its position 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in CME Group by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,056,962. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total value 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. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $261.53. The stock had a trading volume of 3,139,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,825,972. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average is $271.98 and its 200 day moving average is $270.70. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.38 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The firm 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors 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 yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About CME Group

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.