SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 312.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,996 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $12,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $782,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 4.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $226.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,153,999.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $193.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.52. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.88 and a 1-year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. CME Group’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.