Opal Capital LLC Invests $8.78 Million in CME Group Inc. $CME

Opal Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 32,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,778,000. CME Group accounts for about 2.2% of Opal Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its stake in CME Group by 191.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $261.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $94.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $283.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.95. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $244.56 and a fifty-two week 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.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.