Ceera Investments LLC Has $4.15 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Ceera Investments LLC trimmed its CME Group stake by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 15,187 shares valued at about $4.15 million. CME now represents roughly 1.6% of Ceera’s portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 87.75% of CME Group shares. Several firms recently increased their positions, even as Ceera reduced its stake.
• CME insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Terrence A. Duffy and insider Hilda Harris Piell, who together sold more than $12 million worth of stock recently. Analysts currently rate CME as a “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $305.29.

Ceera Investments LLC decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,386 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for about 1.6% of Ceera Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Ceera Investments LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $4,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in CME Group by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 70,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,106,000 after buying an additional 5,773 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 78.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,855 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 345.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 237,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,965,000 after purchasing an additional 184,459 shares during the last quarter. Dover Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 5,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 153,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,508,000 after purchasing an additional 20,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $291.23 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $257.17 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.23. The company's 50 day moving average price is $295.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.46.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

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.

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