iA Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires 128,212 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 131.0% in Q1, now owning approximately $59.98 million worth of the company's stock.
• Several analysts have downgraded CME Group's rating, with Erste Group Bank lowering it to a "hold" and Wall Street Zen to a "sell," while Oppenheimer set a price target increase to $303.00.
• CME Group reported earnings of $2.96 per share in its last quarter, surpassing expectations; annual dividends were announced at $5.00 per share, reflecting a 1.7% yield.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 131.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 226,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 128,212 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.0% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. iA Global Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of CME Group worth $59,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 612.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $280.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,675,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,046,526. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $202.35 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.32.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,470. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,294 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Company 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.