Alberta Investment Management Corp Cuts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Alberta Investment Management Corp reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,147 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 206.9% during the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 84.3% in the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 105.0% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $285.04 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $222.56 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $102.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $267.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.82.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 14,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,791,486 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.65.

CME Group Company Profile

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.