Forsta AP Fonden Sells 2,120 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,120 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in CME Group were worth $19,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CME. West Family Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,147,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Atlatl Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

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 Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $273.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.51. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $257.17 and a one year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.29.

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.