PAX Financial Group LLC Trims Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

PAX Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 202 shares during the period. PAX Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 966.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $2.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $197.44. 2,131,628 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,957,205. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $200.87 and a 200-day moving average of $207.06. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $188.36 and a 1 year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $226.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $206.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total transaction of $1,501,899.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,153,999.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About CME Group

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.