Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd Acquires Shares of 39,650 CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Eurizon SLJ Capital opened a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter, buying 39,650 shares worth about $10.8 million. The stake makes CME its 7th largest holding and about 4.3% of its portfolio.
• CME continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 87.75% of the stock. Several firms recently added sizable positions, including Sanders Capital and Strive Asset Management.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share payable June 25. Meanwhile, analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans moderately positive.

Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 39,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,828,000. CME Group makes up approximately 4.3% of Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at $1,006,932,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at $636,487,000. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $217,656,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in CME Group by 107.2% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,502,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $406,029,000 after buying an additional 777,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $164,648,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting CME Group

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

CME Group Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $273.54 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $293.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.51. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.17 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $99.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

CME Group Profile

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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