Garner Asset Management Corp Sells 1,885 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Garner Asset Management Corp lowered its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 14.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,885 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for about 1.4% of Garner Asset Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc raised its stake in CME Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,197,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup raised CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on CME Group from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total transaction of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,470,463.64. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,147 shares of company stock worth $562,079 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of CME stock opened at $280.87 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $269.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $224.62 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.45%.

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.