Aberdeen Group plc Lowers Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Aberdeen Group plc lessened its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 611,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,287 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.17% of CME Group worth $160,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,643,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,190,661,000 after buying an additional 400,737 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 buying an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,943,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $915,788,000 after purchasing an additional 403,920 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,135,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $728,260,000 after purchasing an additional 621,713 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,744,000 after purchasing an additional 648,591 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the transaction, the director owned 258,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,849,763.88. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,450 shares of company stock worth $676,663. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ CME opened at $274.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $99.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $204.16 and a one year high of $290.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $275.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.86.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given 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%.

CME Group 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.