CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Holdings Boosted by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 95.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 185,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,733 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in CME Group were worth $54,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $240.27 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $262.66 and a 200-day moving average of $283.26. The firm has a market cap of $87.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.25. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.37%.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced new products aimed at expanding trading activity, including Treasury LINK for U.S. Treasury spread trading and a new agriculture index that offers a unified benchmark for the global farm economy. CME Group to launch Treasury LINK for enhanced US Treasury spread trading CME Group’s New Agriculture Index Delivers Unified Price Benchmark for the Global Farm Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley kept an overweight rating but lowered its price target on CME to $324 from $353, while Barclays cut its target to $270 and moved to equal weight, signaling reduced near-term expectations but not a fundamentally bearish view. Morgan Stanley cuts CME price target Barclays cuts CME price target
• Negative Sentiment: The CFTC blocked CME’s plan to fast-track 24/7 crude oil futures trading, a setback that could limit a potentially important new revenue stream and raises regulatory risk around product innovation. CFTC to block CME’s plan for 24/7 crude oil futures trading CFTC Blocks for Now CME’s Plan to Offer 24/7 Oil Futures
• Negative Sentiment: Reports also pointed to weaker trading volumes and rising competition weighing on CME Group, which could pressure transaction-based revenue growth if activity remains soft. Competition And Weaker Trading Volumes Are Weighing On CME Group (CME) Stock

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $293.59.

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.