CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lowered its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Second Half Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,737,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,823,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,041,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,230,000 after purchasing an additional 23,340 shares in the last quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,891,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 81.4% in the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,588,000 after purchasing an additional 19,985 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total value of $130,936.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares in the company, valued at $2,821,771.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays cut their price target on CME Group from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.82.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock traded down $2.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $197.44. The stock had a trading volume of 2,175,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,962,732. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.36 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $200.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.06.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

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.