CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Purchased by Cullen Investment Group LTD.

Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 29.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,942 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $10,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 206.9% in the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 84.3% during the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $272.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $98.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.62 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,962. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,392 shares of company stock worth $7,104,984 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $290.00.

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.