CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 70.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 494,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 204,147 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A. owned about 0.14% of CME Group worth $97,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,891,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its holdings in CME Group by 81.4% in the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,588,000 after purchasing an additional 19,985 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in CME Group by 229.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 292,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,618,000 after purchasing an additional 203,769 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.5% during the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 45,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,708,000 after purchasing an additional 18,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 21.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 Up 1.1 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $218.16 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $208.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.41. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80. The firm has a market cap of $78.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 2.11%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America cut shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.73.

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.