Metis Global Partners LLC Has $3.67 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors increased its position in 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 worth $3,403,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,806 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 137.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,443,000 after buying an additional 1,309,097 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in CME Group in the first quarter worth approximately $156,631,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in CME Group by 577.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 645,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,872,000 after acquiring an additional 550,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 11.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after acquiring an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $223.42 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.17. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $230.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $80.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value 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. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on CME shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

CME Group Company Profile

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.