CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Purchased by Two Sigma Securities LLC

Key Points

• Two Sigma Securities increased its CME Group position by 80% in the second quarter, purchasing 7,417 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 16,683 shares valued at $3.684 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 87.75% of CME stock.
• CME Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.99, exceeding the $2.91 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.71 billion, up 0.8% year over year. The company also declared a $1.30 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.8% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: nine analysts rate CME a Buy, six a Hold and three a Sell, producing an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $288.56. Recent targets range from $245 to $330.

Two Sigma Securities LLC raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 80.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,417 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CME. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its position in shares of CME Group by 191.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Weiss Ratings lowered CME Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $288.56.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $285.80 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $218.31 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $102.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $253.80 and a 200-day moving average of $278.93.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 44.11%.

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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