CME Group Inc. $CME is GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s Largest Position

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd decreased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,243,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 224,093 shares during the period. CME Group makes up approximately 14.0% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $606,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 69.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 132.6% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,480,000 after purchasing an additional 7,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 45,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,616,000 after purchasing an additional 9,602 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buy — Intermede Investment Partners disclosed a new ~$77.8M position in CME on a 13F filing, signaling meaningful institutional demand that can support the share rally. Fund Update: New $77.8M $CME stock position opened by Intermede Investment Partners Ltd
• Positive Sentiment: Product / distribution win — FlexTrade integrated CME’s FX Spot+ and EBS Market offerings into its FlexFX system, expanding CME’s distribution and potential FX flow capture. That supports revenue growth in FX products. FlexTrade Integrates CME Group’s FX Spot+ and EBS Market Offerings for Enhanced FX Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation note — A Seeking Alpha piece argues CME’s fundamentals are strong but the stock looks “fully valued,” reinforcing mixed views among investors about near-term upside vs. stretched multiples. CME Group’s Strength Is Clear, But The Stock Looks Fully Valued
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares (~21.7% of his holding) for ~$224k; this is one of several recent insider sales disclosed and can be interpreted as a modest negative signal by some investors. SEC Form 4: Dennis Suskind sale
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst stance — Goldman Sachs kept a sell rating on CME while nudging its price target to $266, which reinforces downside views among some institutional investors and may cap upside despite bullish flows. Goldman Sachs adjusts price target on CME Group to $266 from $264, maintains sell rating

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Argus reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.59.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $307.24 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.70 and a 52-week high of $307.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $277.46 and its 200 day moving average is $273.21. The company has a market cap of $110.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.27.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted 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. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at $17,737,468.20. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.