Sei Investments Co. Has $80.76 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 24.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 273,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 89,220 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $80,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of CME Group by 103.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 121,707 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 1,325.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 21,918 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in CME Group by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,344,000 after buying an additional 7,397 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.81.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $255.31 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $254.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.22. The company has a market cap of $92.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s Q2 results topped expectations, and the stock was reported higher on the earnings beat. US Stock Market: CME shares jump 6% after Q2 profit beats estimates; strong hedging demand boosts results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts noted strong fundamentals and at least one rating upgrade following the earnings release, which can support investor confidence. CME Group: Q2 Earnings Results Lead To A Rating Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Hold rating and kept its $260 target, signaling solid fundamentals but limited upside at current valuation. Neutral Stance Reiterated on CME as Solid Fundamentals Meet Valuation Limits; $260 Price Target Maintained
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America and JPMorgan both maintained bearish/underweight views, even though they slightly raised price targets, highlighting ongoing caution about upside. Analyst price target updates
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so this headline is unlikely to be a real stock driver and does not change the core thesis.

About CME Group

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.