CME Group Inc. $CME is Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s 2nd Largest Position

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up about 7.0% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $13,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Amundi raised its position in shares of CME Group by 24.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $548,150,000 after buying an additional 385,225 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 8.9% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 70,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,106,000 after acquiring an additional 5,773 shares during the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 86.0% during the third quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 29,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,896,000 after acquiring an additional 13,512 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 85.2% during the third quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Financial Group LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 310.2% during the second quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $311.40 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $248.53 and a 52 week high of $329.16. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $295.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.94. The firm has a market capitalization 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.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

CME Group News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.