J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Has $118.25 Million Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG decreased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 437,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 50,272 shares during the period. CME Group comprises 1.9% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned about 0.12% of CME Group worth $118,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jessup Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in CME Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,197,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in CME Group by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 59.2% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $320.00 to $319.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.18.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $284.05 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.32 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.98.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.