Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 235,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,583 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $51,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd 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. 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $223.42 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $222.44 and its 200 day moving average is $210.17. The stock has a market cap of $80.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $230.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CME. Citigroup upped their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

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.