Ycg LLC Sells 10,302 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Ycg LLC has decreased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 8.5%, now owning 111,024 shares valued at approximately $29.45 million, making it the 18th largest position in their investment portfolio.
• CME Group's stock has seen a target price increase from various analysts, with Citigroup raising theirs to $275 and Oppenheimer to $303, indicating a mixed outlook with ratings ranging from sell to buy.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.96, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, reflecting a robust financial performance.

YCG LLC reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 111,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,302 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 2.3% of YCG LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. YCG LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $29,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 256 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,450 shares of company stock worth $676,663. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ CME traded down $0.78 on Friday, reaching $273.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,055,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,086,143. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.16 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The company's fifty day moving average is $275.52 and its 200-day moving average is $267.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.