Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,706 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,706 shares during the period. Onex Canada Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Trust Co raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $311.40 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $248.53 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $295.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CME. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a “neutral” rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.