CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Holdings Lowered by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 19.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,008 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in CME Group were worth $3,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,769,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of CME Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 580,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,002,000 after acquiring an additional 3,476 shares in the last quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.0% during the first quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd now owns 7,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 11,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in CME Group by 617.3% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 12,555 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $229.37 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $230.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $223.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.19.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

CME Group Company 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.