Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 655 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in CME Group were worth $4,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $218.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $78.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.50. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business’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 company posted $2.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CME. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.54.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

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

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.