Opal Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 32,066 CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Opal Capital LLC initiated a new position in CME Group, buying 32,066 shares valued at about $8.78 million. The stake represents roughly 2.2% of Opal Capital’s portfolio and is its 11th-largest holding.
• Insiders sold shares during the period, including CEO Terrence A. Duffy and insider Hilda Harris Piell, who both reduced their ownership. Despite this, institutional investors still own 87.75% of CME Group’s stock.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with CME carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $305.71. The company also recently beat quarterly earnings estimates and declared a $1.30 quarterly dividend, equal to a 2.0% annualized yield.

Opal Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 32,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,778,000. CME Group accounts for approximately 2.2% of Opal Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CME shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $305.71.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $261.60 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.95. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $244.56 and a one year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.21.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. 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 prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

CME Group Company 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.

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.