Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Sells 3,158 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 51,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,158 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in CME Group were worth $13,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $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 worth about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded down $1.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $274.83. 1,234,017 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,194,406. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $276.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.35. The company has a market cap of $99.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.17 and a 1-year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. CME Group's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,824. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total value of $1,304,836.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,336 shares in the company, valued at $2,339,164.96. The trade was a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $259.87.

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.