LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Trims Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 65.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,356 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CME. LGT Group Foundation lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 124.6% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 1,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8,013.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,194,000. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.0% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 8,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 2.2% during the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,154,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $11,932,706.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.73.

CME Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $218.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $78.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $223.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

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.