Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 344 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 344 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $959,260,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of CME Group by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,403,557,000 after buying an additional 3,069,806 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309,097 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $253,563,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in 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 valued at $3,072,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,575 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total transaction of $130,936.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,821,771.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total value of $130,936.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,821,771.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.27.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $215.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $200.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. CME Group’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.