MUFG Securities EMEA plc Acquires 7,881 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc more than doubled its CME Group stake in the fourth quarter, buying 7,881 additional shares for a total of 14,779 shares valued at about $4.0 million.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.36 beating estimates and revenue of $1.88 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 14.5% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of about $305.29.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 114.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,881 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in CME Group were worth $4,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,895,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,802,366,000 after purchasing an additional 588,509 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,523,241,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,300,450,000 after purchasing an additional 130,848 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,006,932,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,381,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $913,548,000 after purchasing an additional 20,213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.29.

CME Group Trading Down 5.8%

NASDAQ CME opened at $257.76 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $292.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.45. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.17 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group 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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