Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Traders bought an unusually large volume of calls — 556,139 call options on CME, a roughly 23,024% increase versus the typical daily volume of 2,405 calls.
• CME beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.77 (vs. $2.75) and $1.65B revenue, and its shares traded at $319.09 — notably above the average analyst price target of $302.71 while the consensus rating remains a "Hold".
• CME raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20), up from $1.25, implying a 1.6% yield and a payout ratio of about 44.8%.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 556,139 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 23,024% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,405 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.71.

CME Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CME traded up $1.99 during trading on Monday, reaching $319.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,573,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,334,341. CME Group has a twelve month low of $248.53 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $115.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $292.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.68.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at $13,317,117.55. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,248 shares of company stock valued at $8,355,450. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.7% in the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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.