Savvy Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 129.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 1248 Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, BayBridge Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $310.58 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $248.53 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $305.72 and a 200 day moving average of $283.93. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $111.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.26.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results 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. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.59%.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME will list AVAX and SUI futures (micro and larger contract sizes) effective May 4 pending review — expands its regulated crypto product set and makes high-growth tokens accessible to institutional and retail futures traders, which should support trading volumes and fee revenue. PR Newswire: CME Group to Continue Expansion of Regulated Crypto Suite
• Positive Sentiment: Management and coverage note strong crypto derivatives demand (CME reported ~ $8 billion average daily notional in March), signaling an expanding revenue pool for new listings like AVAX and SUI. Blockonomi: CME Group to Launch Avalanche and Sui Futures on May 4
• Positive Sentiment: Sell-side support: Raymond James raised its price target to $320 (maintaining an Outperform), providing incremental analyst validation that may encourage buy-side interest. MarketScreener: Raymond James Adjusts Price Target on CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: The launches are subject to regulatory review — approval timing and any conditions remain a gating risk that could delay or alter revenue upside from these new contracts. Cointelegraph: CME Group expands crypto futures with Avalanche and Sui contracts

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.65.

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.