Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $2.05 Million in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,051,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 966.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:CME traded up $1.16 on Friday, reaching $200.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,259,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,521,588. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $72.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $199.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.00.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $193.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on CME Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.64.

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.