Stonebrook Private Inc. Lowers Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Stonebrook Private Inc. lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 59.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,354 shares during the quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its stake in CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $255.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $92.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $244.56 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.29.

About CME Group

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.