47,990 Shares in CME Group Inc. $CME Bought by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 47,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,966,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 206.9% in the second 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 increased its position in CME Group by 84.3% in 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 approximately $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth $31,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at $287,511.23. The trade was a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.47.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $273.74 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.62 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $272.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.03. The firm has a market cap of $98.71 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.28.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

CME Group Profile

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.