Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 137 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $226,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in CME Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth $547,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 2,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

CME Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $218.59 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $204.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.62. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $78.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.