GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires New Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP initiated a position in CME Group during the second quarter, purchasing 12,709 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of the company.
• CME Group exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.99 in earnings per share 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 a 1.9% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with CME carrying an average “Hold” rating and an average price target of $291.81. The stock recently opened at $269.80, below its one-year high of $329.16.

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 12,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,807,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $269.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $250.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.22. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $218.31 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company has a market cap of $97.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm 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 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 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 Friday, September 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on CME shares. UBS Group cut their price target on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $291.81.

CME Group Company 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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