Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 106,311 call options on the company. This is an increase of 4,208% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,468 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.47.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $239.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $227.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.98. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 137.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309,097 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in CME Group by 577.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 645,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,872,000 after buying an additional 550,133 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after buying an additional 537,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.