Sarasin & Partners LLP Cuts Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Sarasin & Partners LLP lowered its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,092,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,308 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises approximately 3.1% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $298,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CME. Caldwell Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.06.

More CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20), a payout increase that supports yield-focused holders and signals confidence in cash generation. See company summary. MarketBeat: CME summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst actions are mixed — several firms have raised price targets and ratings (Jefferies, Weiss, Erste), while others remain cautious or underweight (JPMorgan, Goldman). The consensus view is close to a “Hold” with a median target near the current price, producing offsetting pressure on the stock. See analyst roundup. MarketBeat: analyst notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest notices published this week show zero shares/days-to-cover, which appears to be a data error (NaN/inconsistent reporting) and should not be treated as a meaningful change in market sentiment. No reliable short-squeeze signal. (No credible link — data feed report)
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership remains high and activity is mixed: large buy and sell moves by different funds have been reported in recent filings, so institutional flow is not clearly one-directional. MarketBeat: institutional activity
• Negative Sentiment: Senior management insider selling: General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares (around $1.1M) on March 17, reducing his holding by ~31%. Multiple recent insider sales by executives have been highlighted by data aggregators, which can weigh on sentiment even if sales are routine or for diversification. InsiderTrades: Marcus sale

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1%

CME Group stock opened at $307.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $300.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $248.53 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $110.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

CME Group Profile

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.