CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stake Increased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,477 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $16,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,403,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,069,806 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 137.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309,097 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of CME Group by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,072,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,575 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth $156,631,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 577.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 645,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,872,000 after buying an additional 550,133 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America lowered shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.73.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $215.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $77.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $208.23 and a 200-day moving average of $207.38. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.