Graham Capital Management L.P. Purchases 3,338 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,338 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises about 0.5% of Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $21,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 191.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $329.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.71.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of CME opened at $261.60 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $283.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.95. The company has a market capitalization of $94.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $244.56 and a 1-year high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.37%.

CME Group Company 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.