Erste Asset Management GmbH Raises Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 106.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 64,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,026 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in CME Group were worth $17,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in CME Group by 103.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 121,707 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 1,325.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,497,000 after acquiring an additional 21,918 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in CME Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,344,000 after acquiring an additional 7,397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of CME opened at $252.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $91.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $287.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.47. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $244.56 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.29.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.