Element Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 34.6% in the first quarter, becoming the largest holder with a total of 40,381 shares valued at approximately $10.71 million.
• Several hedge funds have also raised their positions in CME Group, highlighting strong institutional interest, with such investors holding 87.75% of the company's stock.
• CME Group recently reported earnings of $2.96 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share with a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Element Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 34.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,381 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up 2.7% of Element Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Element Capital Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $10,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 612.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,215. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,450 shares of company stock valued at $676,663 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $273.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,055,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,079,104. The company has a market cap of $98.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.16 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The business's 50 day moving average price is $275.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.59.

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. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CME. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

About CME Group

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.