Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 2,702 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV decreased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,702 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $214.76 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $223.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $77.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $207.46 and a 200-day moving average of $207.59.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.73.

CME Group Profile

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.