US Bancorp DE Sells 109,976 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 29.3%, owning 265,362 shares worth approximately $70.4 million after selling 109,976 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in CME Group, with Sound View Wealth Advisors boosting its holdings by 58.5% during the same period.
• CME Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, which represents an annualized dividend of $5.00 and a yield of 1.8%.

US Bancorp DE trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 29.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 265,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 109,976 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.07% of CME Group worth $70,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 256.9% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $258,000. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $548,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several research reports. Erste Group Bank cut shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on shares of CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock traded up $6.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $287.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,726,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,223,672. The company has a market capitalization of $103.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $276.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.36. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.62 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $81,951.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,765,601.39. The trade was a 1.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,294. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.