Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in CME Group by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter, owning a total of 81,446 shares valued at approximately $22.4 million.
• Several large investors, including Vanguard Group and Massachusetts Financial Services, also increased their stakes in CME Group, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• CME Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.96, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 10.4% year-over-year revenue growth.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,921 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $22,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,113,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,091,401,000 after purchasing an additional 363,130 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in CME Group by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $747,744,000 after purchasing an additional 648,591 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,783,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $735,539,000 after acquiring an additional 260,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 11.9% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $264.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $269.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.41. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $213.94 and a one year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 258,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $274.15.

About CME Group

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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