CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Position Lifted by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 103,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,933 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in CME Group were worth $22,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its position in CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of CME stock opened at $263.66 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The company has a market cap of $94.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $249.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.78.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.