Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Trims Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 24.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,785 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth about $76,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CME shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $229.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.19. The company has a market capitalization of $82.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 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 Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.