CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Bought by TD Asset Management Inc

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, adding 3,972 shares and bringing its position to 394,279 shares valued at about $107.7 million.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.36 beating estimates and revenue of $1.88 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 14.5% from a year earlier.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share payable June 25, while insiders sold shares during the quarter, including CEO Terrence A. Duffy, and analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy.”

TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 394,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,972 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 0.11% of CME Group worth $107,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,147,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in CME Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, 1248 Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $256.06 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $289.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.82. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $244.56 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.21.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.29.

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.

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