CME Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CME)

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 4,184 call options on the company. This is an increase of 105% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,041 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $288.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Argus decreased their price target on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.71.

CME Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $1.93 on Monday, reaching $279.54. The company had a trading volume of 410,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,198,127. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.08, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group has a 52-week low of $224.62 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $270.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,147 shares of company stock valued at $562,079 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,571,447,000. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,006,932,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $636,487,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 7,676.3% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,205,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,975,000 after buying an additional 2,176,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 370.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,653,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $704,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089,935 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.