US Bancorp DE Sells 17,012 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE has reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. by selling 17,012 shares, resulting in a total ownership of 248,350 shares, valued at approximately $68.45 million.
• Insider trading activity includes Timothy Francis Mccourt selling 379 shares, while Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares, indicating mixed sentiment among company insiders.
• Recent analyst ratings for CME Group show an increase in target prices, with six analysts recommending a Buy rating, reflecting a consensus target price of $279.23.

US Bancorp DE reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 248,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,012 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned 0.07% of CME Group worth $68,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 84.3% in the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised shares of CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $276.00 to $266.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.23.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $268.84 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.94 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $269.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $271.10. The company has a market capitalization of $96.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.41.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

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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