CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 92,150 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $26,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,749,965,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in CME Group by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,019,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,187,290,000 after buying an additional 1,130,587 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $769,376,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $629,771,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 10,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.15, for a total transaction of $3,075,606.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,555,232.30. This trade represents a 31.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.70, for a total transaction of $1,493,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,985,051.90. The trade was a 19.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 33,511 shares of company stock valued at $9,714,580 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 2.2%

CME Group stock opened at $315.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $284.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.22. The firm has a market cap of $113.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.15.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 42.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.44.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group operates a global marketplace for derivatives and other financial products. Through its exchanges—CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX—it offers futures and options contracts tied to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company also provides clearing and settlement services, market data and related products. Its electronic trading platform, CME Globex, supports access to its markets by participants around the world, alongside its open-outcry and privately negotiated trading services.