NBT Bank N.A. Makes New $431,000 Investment in CME Group Inc. $CME

NBT Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $431,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth about $6,749,965,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth about $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth about $769,376,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $629,771,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $622,679,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.50, for a total transaction of $121,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,636,310. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total transaction of $140,055.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,450.76. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 15,900 shares of company stock worth $4,377,655 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly results: CME reported third-quarter revenue of approximately $1.74 billion, up 10.6% year over year and above the $1.71 billion consensus estimate. EPS of $3.02 also exceeded expectations of $2.99, while average daily volume reached a record 29.4 million contracts. CME third-quarter revenue article
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto derivatives momentum: CME recorded approximately $469.5 billion in crypto derivatives volume during the third quarter, highlighting growing demand for regulated digital-asset products. The company has not separately disclosed crypto revenue, so the direct earnings contribution remains unclear. CME crypto derivatives volume article
• Positive Sentiment: More bullish analyst coverage: JPMorgan upgraded CME from “underweight” to “overweight” and set a $367 price target, citing improving volume and earnings prospects. Wells Fargo also raised its target to $333. JPMorgan CME rating
• Positive Sentiment: Expansion opportunities: CME plans to launch CME Securities Clearing on December 7, potentially broadening its clearing business. Management also highlighted strong participation and international volume growth. CME Securities Clearing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains debated: UBS lifted its price target from $270 to $310 but retained a “neutral” rating, indicating that much of the improved outlook may already be reflected in the stock. UBS CME rating
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: Director Martin Gepsman sold 400 shares for approximately $121,000. The transaction reduced his holdings by 1.56%, but he still owns 25,244 shares, limiting the sale’s significance. CME director stock sale

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $281.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. CLSA set a $367.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.29.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $305.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $277.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.74. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The stock has a market cap of $109.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.66%.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group’s exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.