Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management raised its stake in CME Group by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, owning 33,532 shares valued at about $9.16 million. Several other institutional investors also increased their holdings, and hedge funds and institutions own 87.75% of the stock.
• Analysts remain mixed on CME, with several firms trimming price targets but keeping buy or overweight ratings. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $305.29.
• CME reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.36 per share versus the $3.11 estimate and revenue of $1.88 billion versus $1.77 billion expected. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, implying a 2.0% yield.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $9,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 345.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 237,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,965,000 after buying an additional 184,459 shares during the last quarter. Dover Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 95.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 5,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,512,000 after buying an additional 2,734 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 50,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,773,000 after buying an additional 12,503 shares during the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,122,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its position in CME Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 114,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,913,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.29.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $255.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $244.56 and a one year high of $329.16. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $286.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.21.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.37%.

About CME Group

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CME? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.