CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 38.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,702 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,823,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,118,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,867,000 after purchasing an additional 46,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,986,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $212.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $214.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.93. The company has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.49. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.80.

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.