Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Cuts Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 115,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,832 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises approximately 2.2% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $30,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,952,273,000 after purchasing an additional 326,623 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,946,717,000 after acquiring an additional 104,697 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in CME Group by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,923,047,000 after acquiring an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,107,389,000. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of CME Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $947,821,000 after purchasing an additional 61,908 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,824. This represents a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,147,935 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $266.10 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $271.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 50.30%.

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.