CME Group Inc. $CME Stake Reduced by Canoe Financial LP

Canoe Financial LP trimmed its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 496,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,720 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for about 2.0% of Canoe Financial LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Canoe Financial LP owned 0.14% of CME Group worth $146,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in CME Group by 103.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 121,707 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 1,325.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,497,000 after buying an additional 21,918 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in CME Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,344,000 after buying an additional 7,397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $221.00 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.73 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $273.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $80.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.21.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several research reports. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays decreased their target price on CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.24.

CME Group Company 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.