Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Sells 1,970 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,970 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jessup Wealth Management Inc increased 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ CME opened at $281.39 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $274.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.97. The company has a market capitalization of $101.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.96 and a 52 week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $307.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. TD Cowen raised CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.82.

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.