Sei Investments Co. Boosts Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sei Investments Co. increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 224,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.06% of CME Group worth $44,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,451,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,044,821,000 after buying an additional 215,044 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in CME Group by 24.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,403,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,806 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,072,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,575 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,793,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,462,678,000 after purchasing an additional 189,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,667,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,193,551,000 after purchasing an additional 23,583 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.73.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $213.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $207.86 and its 200 day moving average is $207.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.