UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Sells 1,339 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by 13.0%, now holding 8,974 shares worth approximately $2.38 million as reported in the latest SEC filing.
• Insiders at CME Group have actively sold shares, with notable transactions including Director Daniel G. Kaye selling 500 shares and Derek Sammann selling 4,650 shares, resulting in significant decreases in their personal ownership percentages.
• Market analysts have provided mixed ratings for CME Group, with price targets ranging from $211.00 to $304.00, reflecting variability in investor sentiment and projected stock performance.

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lowered its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,339 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's holdings in CME Group were worth $2,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 122.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 612.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter valued at $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 8,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,339,164.96. This represents a 35.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,881,130 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.9%

CME stock traded up $2.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $280.76. The stock had a trading volume of 3,011,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,115. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $196.62 and a one year high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $101.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. The company's 50 day moving average is $276.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $264.14. 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 (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

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.