Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 32.6%, owning a total of 15,816 shares valued at approximately $4.36 million by the end of the second quarter.
• Institutional investors own about 87.75% of CME Group, with notable increases in holdings by Vanguard Group and Raymond James Financial during the first quarter.
• Several brokerages have adjusted their price targets for CME Group, with UBS cutting its target to $285 and Citigroup raising it to $300, indicating a mixed outlook among analysts.

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 32.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,887 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $4,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,643,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,190,661,000 after purchasing an additional 400,737 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 9.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,113,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,091,401,000 after buying an additional 363,130 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 29.9% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $747,744,000 after buying an additional 648,591 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,783,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $735,539,000 after buying an additional 260,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 11.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,727,809 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $723,660,000 after acquiring an additional 290,147 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $102,704.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CME. UBS Group cut their target price on CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $246.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Citigroup raised shares of CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $275.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $303.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $274.15.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $262.05 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $269.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $271.16. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.94 and a 52 week 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 $94.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.41.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 48.40%.

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.

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