Sfmg LLC Sells 93 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sfmg LLC cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in CME Group by 59.9% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 68,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,558,000 after purchasing an additional 25,845 shares in the last quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $19,471,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,651,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in CME Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 724,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,791,000 after acquiring an additional 24,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $218.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $78.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $208.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.41. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

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.