Troy Asset Management Ltd Cuts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Troy Asset Management Ltd decreased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 587,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 56,290 shares during the period. CME Group makes up approximately 3.7% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd owned 0.16% of CME Group worth $115,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aveo Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $226,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,574,000 after purchasing an additional 5,146 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in CME Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 270,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,957,000 after buying an additional 10,750 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 6,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,275,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America downgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.54.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $220.65 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $210.11 and its 200-day moving average is $207.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $79.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

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

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.