DAVENPORT & Co LLC Cuts Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 933 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 256.9% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $264.94 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $269.26 and a 200 day moving average of $271.06. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.94 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $95.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.41.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $303.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $275.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total transaction of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,508 shares in the company, valued at $2,470,463.64. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total value of $3,229,407.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,734,436.80. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.