CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Holdings Lessened by Scharf Investments LLC

Scharf Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 391,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,055 shares during the period. CME Group comprises approximately 2.9% of Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned approximately 0.11% of CME Group worth $106,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi raised its position in CME Group by 24.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $548,150,000 after acquiring an additional 385,225 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 70,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,106,000 after purchasing an additional 5,773 shares during the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 86.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 29,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 85.2% in the third quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 3,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Financial Group LLC increased its position in CME Group by 310.2% during the second quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on CME Group from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.06.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $295.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $105.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $303.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $282.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $248.53 and a twelve month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.