57,577 Shares in CME Group Inc. $CME Acquired by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 57,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,732,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 197.4% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.29.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $273.54 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $99.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $293.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.59. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $257.17 and a twelve month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced that Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy will present at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange and Fintech Conference on June 4, which keeps the company visible to investors and may reinforce its growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says CME’s planned 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading could attract more institutional crypto volume, which may support future derivatives activity and trading revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CME also lowered margin requirements on gold and silver futures, a move that may help keep trading active during volatile commodity markets but is not clearly a major fundamental catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro commentary from the CME floor highlighted sticky inflation and stronger durable goods data, which could keep Fed policy uncertain and sustain trading activity, but the direct impact on CME stock is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto articles suggesting Bitcoin’s “CME gap” may disappear with round-the-clock trading could reduce the market’s focus on CME-specific weekend price gaps, weakening one of the more visible trading narratives tied to the company’s crypto franchise. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.