CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Purchased by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 277 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in CME Group by 206.9% during the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 84.3% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 59.2% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 105.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,043 shares of company stock worth $3,791,486. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on CME shares. Argus dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $288.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.65.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $285.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.85. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $222.56 and a one year high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $102.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

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.