CI Investments Inc. Grows Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

CI Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 200.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,864 shares during the quarter. CI Investments Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 2,075.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group 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. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $255.31 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $254.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s Q2 results topped expectations, and the stock was reported higher on the earnings beat. US Stock Market: CME shares jump 6% after Q2 profit beats estimates; strong hedging demand boosts results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts noted strong fundamentals and at least one rating upgrade following the earnings release, which can support investor confidence. CME Group: Q2 Earnings Results Lead To A Rating Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Hold rating and kept its $260 target, signaling solid fundamentals but limited upside at current valuation. Neutral Stance Reiterated on CME as Solid Fundamentals Meet Valuation Limits; $260 Price Target Maintained
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America and JPMorgan both maintained bearish/underweight views, even though they slightly raised price targets, highlighting ongoing caution about upside. Analyst price target updates
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so this headline is unlikely to be a real stock driver and does not change the core thesis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.81.

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.