CME Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:CME)

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 3,030 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 54% compared to the average volume of 1,967 put options.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $2.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $216.13. The stock had a trading volume of 351,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,937,139. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $204.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.62. CME Group has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $223.80. The company has a market capitalization of $77.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its 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. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lowered shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bluefin Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,891,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 81.4% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,588,000 after acquiring an additional 19,985 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $61,618,000 after acquiring an additional 203,769 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its position in shares of CME Group by 66.5% in the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 45,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,708,000 after purchasing an additional 18,017 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.