CME Group Inc. $CME Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stake

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 421,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 47,305 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.12% of CME Group worth $110,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $612,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth $1,513,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth about $53,671,000. Haverford Trust Co bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,818,000. Finally, Bowie Capital Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $22,991,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $281.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.44.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $305.89 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $109.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 42.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.50, for a total value of $121,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,636,310. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.00, for a total value of $606,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,021,519. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,979 shares of company stock worth $9,552,762. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Profile

CME Group operates a global marketplace for derivatives and other financial products. Through its exchanges—CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX—it offers futures and options contracts tied to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals.

The company also provides clearing and settlement services, market data and related products. Its electronic trading platform, CME Globex, supports access to its markets by participants around the world, alongside its open-outcry and privately negotiated trading services.

CME Group was formed in 2007 through the merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, institutions with roots in the 19th century.