Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 427 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 427 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 24.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,403,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,806 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after buying an additional 537,758 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its holdings in CME Group by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 4,009,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $863,112,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in CME Group by 3.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,029,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,530,000 after acquiring an additional 94,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 6.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,371,000 after acquiring an additional 176,004 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $3.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $223.06. The stock had a trading volume of 441,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,930,058. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $217.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.53. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $230.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $80.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.07.

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.