Securities exchange operator CME Group (CME +1.15%) is spreading a few of its coins around. On Wednesday, the company declared that its next quarterly dividend will be $0.85 per share, to be handed out on June 25 to stockholders of record as of June 10. That's the same amount as the company's last payout.
At the most recent closing share price, this distribution yields just under 2%. The company is a steady and reliable dividend payer, dispensing a regular quarterly payout that it usually raises at the beginning of every year. It also hands out "variable" dividends from time to time; the most recent of these hit investors' coffers in January, and amounted to a relatively generous $2.50 per share.
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As the operator of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, New York Mercantile Exchange, and Chicago Board of Trade, among others, CME Group has benefited from the market turmoil and higher trading volumes associated with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The economic fears the outbreak has stoked have spurred investors to trade more actively.
In its most recently reported quarter, the company's core clearing and transaction fee income leaped 34% year over year, powering total revenue growth of 29%. Net income grew at a more torrid 54% to $766 million. As long as trading volume remains strong, CME Group should continue to benefit from the situation. But on Wednesday, its shares fell by 2.7%, in contrast to the gains of the top equity indexes and numerous peer finance sector stocks.
