Groupama Asset Managment Has $79.41 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 16.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 268,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,526 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.1% of Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in CME Group were worth $79,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CME stock opened at $267.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $250.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.05. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $96.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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 note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group 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.