Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 23,211 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,211 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 8,013.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,194,000. Prudential PLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 8,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Invera Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $218.54 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $203.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America downgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.73.

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.