Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 858 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $215.86 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $223.80. The company has a market cap of $77.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $208.23 and a 200-day moving average of $207.38.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 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, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.73.

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.