PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services increased its stake in CME Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 169,275 shares worth about $46.2 million.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.36 versus estimates of $3.11 and revenue of $1.88 billion versus expectations of $1.77 billion, with revenue up 14.5% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable June 25, while insiders have sold shares recently, including CEO Terrence A. Duffy’s sale of 35,000 shares.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 169,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,662 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $46,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. West Family Investments Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlatl Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $289.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $104.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.17 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.37%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,317,117.55. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 48,244 shares of company stock worth $14,598,037 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $305.29.

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.

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