Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Buys Shares of 57,577 CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. opened a new fourth-quarter position in CME Group, buying 57,577 shares valued at about $15.7 million.
• CME Group reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $3.36 versus $3.11 expected and revenue of $1.88 billion, up 14.5% year over year.
• The company also announced a $1.30 quarterly dividend payable June 25, while recent insider activity included CEO Terry Duffy selling 35,000 shares and analysts currently rating the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $305.29.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 57,577 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,732,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its stake in CME Group by 191.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 197.4% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $273.54 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $293.28 and a 200-day moving average of $289.59. The firm has a market cap of $99.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.21. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $257.17 and a twelve month 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.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Key CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced that Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy will present at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange and Fintech Conference on June 4, which keeps the company visible to investors and may reinforce its growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says CME’s planned 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading could attract more institutional crypto volume, which may support future derivatives activity and trading revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CME also lowered margin requirements on gold and silver futures, a move that may help keep trading active during volatile commodity markets but is not clearly a major fundamental catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro commentary from the CME floor highlighted sticky inflation and stronger durable goods data, which could keep Fed policy uncertain and sustain trading activity, but the direct impact on CME stock is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto articles suggesting Bitcoin’s “CME gap” may disappear with round-the-clock trading could reduce the market’s focus on CME-specific weekend price gaps, weakening one of the more visible trading narratives tied to the company’s crypto franchise. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

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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