CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Position Boosted by XTX Topco Ltd

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in CME Group Inc. by 40.9% in the first quarter, becoming its largest stakeholder with a holding valued at approximately $14.96 million.
• CME Group reported earnings of $2.96 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and its revenue was up by 10.4% year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.82% and a payout ratio of 48.40%.

XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 40.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,377 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises approximately 0.8% of XTX Topco Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in CME Group were worth $14,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,946,717,000 after acquiring an additional 104,697 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in CME Group by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,923,047,000 after acquiring an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $947,821,000 after buying an additional 61,908 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,943,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $915,788,000 after buying an additional 403,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,366,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $781,869,000 after buying an additional 939,679 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays set a $298.00 price target on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total transaction of $1,304,836.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,400 shares of company stock worth $2,881,130 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 1.1%

CME stock traded up $3.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $277.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,410,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,069,926. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $100.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $193.25 and a one year high of $290.79. The company's 50 day moving average is $276.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.21.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.40%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.