GSA Capital Partners LLP Boosts Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 106.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter valued at about $76,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $225.28 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $230.36. The company has a market capitalization of $81.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $222.62 and a 200-day moving average of $210.39.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

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.