CME Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CME)

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 556,139 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 23,024% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,405 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at $13,317,117.55. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,700. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,248 shares of company stock valued at $8,355,450. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 24.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $548,150,000 after purchasing an additional 385,225 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8.9% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 70,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,106,000 after purchasing an additional 5,773 shares in the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 86.0% in the third quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 29,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group by 85.2% in the 3rd quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 3,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 310.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CME stock opened at $319.09 on Tuesday. CME Group has a 12 month low of $248.53 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $115.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $292.99 and a 200-day moving average of $278.00.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.71.

About CME Group

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.