CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Demars Financial Group LLC

Demars Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 68.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,376 shares during the quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $268.76 per share, with a total value of $78,746.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 263,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,761,551.64. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.50, for a total value of $121,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,636,310. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,900 shares of company stock valued at $4,377,655 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q3 performance: CME reported revenue of $1.74 billion, up 10.6% year over year and ahead of the $1.71 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS of $3.02 also exceeded expectations, while average daily volume reached a record 29.4 million contracts. Growth was supported by higher derivatives activity, transaction fees and market-data revenue. CME Group third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns and operating momentum: CME returned nearly $1 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Management also highlighted record participation, international volume growth and plans to launch CME Securities Clearing on December 7, potentially expanding its clearing business. CME Securities Clearing launch
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgrade: JPMorgan raised CME from “underweight” to “overweight” and established a $367 price target, implying substantial potential upside. The upgrade reflects confidence in CME’s volume growth and earnings outlook. JPMorgan CME rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst view: UBS raised its price target from $270 to $310 but maintained a “neutral” rating, suggesting analysts see limited near-term upside at the current valuation. UBS CME rating
• Negative Sentiment: Expense concerns and insider selling: The stock initially faced pressure because quarterly expenses disappointed despite the earnings beat. Director Martin Gepsman also sold 400 shares worth $121,000; the relatively small transaction leaves him with approximately 25,244 shares, so its signaling value appears limited. Martin Gepsman insider transaction

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on CME shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded 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 report on Wednesday, August 19th. CLSA set a $367.00 price objective on CME Group in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.29.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $305.98 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $110.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $276.89 and its 200 day moving average is $270.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.11%.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group’s exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.