MML Investors Services LLC Increases Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 48.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 159,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 52,340 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $43,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,895,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,802,366,000 after purchasing an additional 588,509 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in CME Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,408,747,000 after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,523,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in CME Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,924,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,776,000 after acquiring an additional 134,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,300,450,000 after acquiring an additional 130,848 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.71.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $266.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $284.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.08. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $244.56 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.21.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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.