CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 38.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,702 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 5.0% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,267,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Argus upped their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $217.80.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $212.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $76.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $214.76 and a 200-day moving average of $211.93. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.73 and a 52-week high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.86%.

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.