Generali Investments Management Co LLC Increases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 48.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,339,164.96. The trade was a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,147,935 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $5.89 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $268.35. 3,019,358 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,191,978. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $271.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.27. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $290.79. The company has a market cap of $96.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. CME Group's payout ratio is 50.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.20.

CME Group 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.