Norges Bank Buys Shares of 5,578,002 CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in CME Group, buying 5,578,002 shares worth about $1.52 billion and ending with 1.55% ownership of the company.
• CME Group continues to draw heavy institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors actively adjusting positions and 87.75% of the stock now held by institutional investors.
• The company recently reported solid results, with Q1 EPS of $3.36 and revenue of $1.88 billion both beating expectations, while it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,578,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,523,241,000. Norges Bank owned 1.55% of CME Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 11.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of CME Group by 103.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 121,707 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 1,325.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 21,918 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $79,344,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced that Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy will present at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange and Fintech Conference on June 4, which keeps the company visible to investors and may reinforce its growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says CME’s planned 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading could attract more institutional crypto volume, which may support future derivatives activity and trading revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CME also lowered margin requirements on gold and silver futures, a move that may help keep trading active during volatile commodity markets but is not clearly a major fundamental catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro commentary from the CME floor highlighted sticky inflation and stronger durable goods data, which could keep Fed policy uncertain and sustain trading activity, but the direct impact on CME stock is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto articles suggesting Bitcoin’s “CME gap” may disappear with round-the-clock trading could reduce the market’s focus on CME-specific weekend price gaps, weakening one of the more visible trading narratives tied to the company’s crypto franchise. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $273.54 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.17 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $99.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. 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 report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $305.29.

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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