Amundi Grows Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Amundi raised its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 24.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 385,225 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.55% of CME Group worth $548,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in CME Group by 103.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 121,707 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 64,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,854,000 after purchasing an additional 4,162 shares during the period. Philadelphia Trust Co. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 6.3% during the second quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. now owns 1,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 108.3% during the second quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 8.6% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,331,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $273.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.62 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $271.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.85.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. 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 currently 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,056,962. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,147 shares of company stock valued at $562,079. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.71.

CME Group 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.