Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Decreases Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 14.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $10,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 126,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,237,000 after buying an additional 6,468 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 26.8% during the third quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in CME Group by 38.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,570,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,376,000 after acquiring an additional 437,552 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,300,450,000 after acquiring an additional 130,848 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in CME Group by 2.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.53.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $311.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $112.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $295.80 and its 200-day moving average is $279.06. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $248.53 and a 12-month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.59%.

More CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a “neutral” rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

CME Group 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.