CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 358.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $752,000. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 15,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,191,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in CME Group by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,673,946.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group 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 sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total transaction of $526,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,673,946.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,290 shares of company stock worth $2,957,300 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $193.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.64.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $3.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $199.83. 2,373,846 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,146,911. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $198.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.99.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

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.