Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Increases Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 18.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,163 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caldwell Trust Co raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $282.73 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.32 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.27. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $274.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.95.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $307.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,511.23. The trade was a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.