Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 945 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 945 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $959,260,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 24.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,403,557,000 after buying an additional 3,069,806 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $253,563,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,072,654,000 after buying an additional 1,172,575 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $156,631,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $193.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on CME Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.64.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $200.54. 1,259,506 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,521,588. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.00.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

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.