CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,802 shares during the period. CME Group comprises approximately 1.6% of EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Amundi boosted its stake in CME Group by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $548,150,000 after buying an additional 385,225 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 70,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,106,000 after acquiring an additional 5,773 shares during the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 86.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 29,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,896,000 after acquiring an additional 13,512 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 85.2% during the 3rd quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,919 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 310.2% in the second quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of CME stock opened at $311.40 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $248.53 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $295.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.99. The stock has a market cap of $112.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.59%.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a “neutral” rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,248 shares of company stock worth $1,616,700 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Company 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.