Wealthfront Advisers LLC Raises Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 9.9% to 64,907 shares, valued at $17.725 million; institutional investors now own 87.75% of the company, with Vanguard holding about 35.9 million shares (~$9.8 billion).
• CME beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $3.36 versus $3.11 and revenue of $1.88 billion versus $1.77 billion (revenue +14.5% YoY), and the company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20, yield 1.8%).
• Insiders sold 8,539 shares (~$2.71 million) in the last quarter, including sales by Director Dennis Suskind and General Counsel Jonathan Marcus, while analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $305.29.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,823 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $17,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,006,932,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $636,487,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 107.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,502,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $406,029,000 after purchasing an additional 777,571 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $164,648,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 1.7% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,700. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This trade 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 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $284.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $303.71 and a 200 day moving average of $286.56. The company has a market cap of $102.04 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $257.17 and a 12-month high of $329.16.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.23 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target 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 target 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.29.

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.

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