CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Sold by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Asset Management One Co. Ltd. reduced its CME Group position by 2% in the third quarter, selling 3,776 shares and retaining 187,165 shares valued at approximately $49 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: CME has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $313.29, despite several firms raising their targets and one upgrading the stock.
• CME Group exceeded quarterly expectations with $3.02 in earnings per share and $1.74 billion in revenue, while reporting strong margins and a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. cut its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,776 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.05% of CME Group worth $49,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $281.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $313.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total transaction of $140,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,018,450.76. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $268.76 per share, with a total value of $78,746.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 263,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $70,761,551.64. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,900 shares of company stock worth $5,871,155. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record futures volume is improving sentiment toward CME Group. The company recently reported record third-quarter revenue of approximately $1.74 billion and record average daily volume of 29.4 million contracts, while October activity was tracking at the strongest October level on record. The combination of elevated market volatility and strong trading activity makes CME’s earnings outlook more compelling. CME Group Looks Better Valued As Record Real Futures Volume Lifts Sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s Brazilian real futures set a record for daily volume following Brazil’s election, highlighting demand for the company’s currency products during periods of political and foreign-exchange volatility. CME Group Brazilian Real Futures Set New Daily Volume Record Following Election
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded CME to a Rank #2, or “Buy,” citing improving earnings prospects. Analysts have also raised several price targets, with the broader analyst consensus remaining above the recent trading level. CME Upgraded to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: The Federal Reserve’s rate decision is being closely monitored, with markets expecting rates to remain unchanged. Stable rates may reduce uncertainty, but the impact on CME depends on how interest-rate and currency trading volumes respond. US Fed Opens Two-Day Meeting
• Negative Sentiment: After a strong run-up, investors may be taking profits or reassessing CME’s valuation despite its solid earnings beat and record volumes. This could limit near-term upside if results do not continue to exceed elevated expectations. CME Group Slides as Investors Digest Recent Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 CME shares for approximately $1.49 million, reducing his direct stake by nearly 20%. The sale is a modest sentiment negative, though it does not by itself signal deteriorating fundamentals. CME Group Insider Sale

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $294.04 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $279.10 and its 200 day moving average is $279.65. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $218.31 and a one year high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $105.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is 42.66%.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group's exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.

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