Empowered Funds LLC Takes $7.29 Million Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC initiated a $7.29 million position in CME Group during the second quarter, purchasing 32,993 shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 87.75% of the company.
• CME Group exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.99 in EPS and $1.71 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 0.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equivalent to an annualized $5.20 dividend and a 1.8% yield; analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $288.56.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 32,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,286,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth about $6,749,965,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of CME Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,408,747,000 after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,523,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,924,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,344,776,000 after acquiring an additional 134,242 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,319,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,179,858,000 after acquiring an additional 222,890 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

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

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 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 company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut CME Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $288.56.

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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