Galaxy Digital Capital Management GP LLC Makes New $3.64 Million Investment in CME Group Inc. $CME

Galaxy Digital Capital Management GP LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,637,000. CME Group comprises about 1.8% of Galaxy Digital Capital Management GP LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $4,139,000. Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $1,169,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $503,111,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,671,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $277.32 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $218.31 and a one year high of $329.16. The stock has a market cap of $99.72 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $251.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.35.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $288.56.

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.