US Bancorp DE Trims Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

US Bancorp DE cut its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 29.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 265,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109,976 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in CME Group were worth $70,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 3.6% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $280.76 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $276.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.89. The company has a market capitalization of $101.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.62 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 258,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,400 shares of company stock worth $2,881,130. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CME. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.