Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. Has $5.77 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,706 shares during the quarter. Onex Canada Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in CME Group by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 1,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,265,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in CME Group by 8.8% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a “neutral” rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CME. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.53.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of CME opened at $311.40 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $248.53 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $295.80 and its 200-day moving average is $278.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.