iA Global Asset Management Inc. Cuts Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 12.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 186,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,765 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. owned 0.05% of CME Group worth $50,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,695,313,000 after buying an additional 532,549 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,178,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,524,271,000 after acquiring an additional 319,899 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,571,447,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,682,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,910,000 after purchasing an additional 92,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in CME Group by 6.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,833,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,056,476,000 after purchasing an additional 238,522 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. Argus lowered their target price on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $307.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Nine equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.82.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $281.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.96 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $274.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.97.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

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.