SG Americas Securities LLC Increases Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 13,110.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 291,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 289,353 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.08% of CME Group worth $67,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 8.5% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at $200,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at $45,651,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in CME Group by 59.9% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 68,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,558,000 after acquiring an additional 25,845 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $232.53 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $233.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced 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 net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Profile

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.