Bank of New York Mellon Corp Grows Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its CME Group stake by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 4.92 million shares worth about $1.34 billion. Institutional investors remain dominant, owning 87.75% of CME’s stock.
• CME has been posting strong operating momentum, including a record May average daily volume of 33.2 million contracts and first-quarter earnings that beat expectations with $3.36 EPS on $1.88 billion in revenue. The company also launched 24/7 cryptocurrency futures and options trading, expanding its digital-asset offering.
• Despite the positive fundamentals, the stock has faced mixed signals: insiders recently sold shares, and analysts are split but currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $305.29. CME also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equal to a 2.1% annual yield.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,924,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 134,242 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.37% of CME Group worth $1,344,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 7,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,012,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 194,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,125,000 after buying an additional 11,067 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in CME Group by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 348 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas raised its stake in CME Group by 2,154.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 11,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,196,000 after buying an additional 11,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

More CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME launched 24/7 trading for cryptocurrency futures and options, expanding access for global market participants and potentially boosting volumes in its fast-growing digital-asset franchise. CME Group Announces Launch of 24/7 Cryptocurrency Futures and Options Trading
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported a record May average daily volume of 33.2 million contracts, up 15% year over year, signaling strong customer activity and healthy transaction demand. CME Group May Volume Hits New Record of 33.2 Million Contracts, Up 15% Year Over Year
• Positive Sentiment: Ripple said CME’s new around-the-clock crypto offering reflects strong institutional demand, highlighting CME’s role in regulated digital-asset trading and clearing. Ripple Highlights Institutional XRP Demand as CME Launches 24/7 Crypto Futures
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have recently continued to view CME as an attractive dividend stock, which may help support investor sentiment but does not appear to be a major near-term catalyst. CME Group (CME) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing competitive concerns after a rival U.S. equity-index futures product went live, raising fears of fee pressure and possible market-share loss in CME’s core derivatives franchise. CME slides 5.7% as a new U.S. equity-index futures competitor goes live, raising share-loss fears

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $250.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock's fifty day moving average is $292.22 and its 200 day moving average is $289.45. The stock has a market cap of $90.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.21. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $244.56 and a one year high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group 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.

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