Aventura Private Wealth LLC Takes $549,000 Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $549,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in CME Group by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 41,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 142.3% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 46,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,833,000 after purchasing an additional 27,343 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 654,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 11,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $307.32 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $248.53 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $300.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.42. The company has a market cap of $110.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.59%.

Key CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20), a payout increase that supports yield-focused holders and signals confidence in cash generation. See company summary. MarketBeat: CME summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst actions are mixed — several firms have raised price targets and ratings (Jefferies, Weiss, Erste), while others remain cautious or underweight (JPMorgan, Goldman). The consensus view is close to a “Hold” with a median target near the current price, producing offsetting pressure on the stock. See analyst roundup. MarketBeat: analyst notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest notices published this week show zero shares/days-to-cover, which appears to be a data error (NaN/inconsistent reporting) and should not be treated as a meaningful change in market sentiment. No reliable short-squeeze signal. (No credible link — data feed report)
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership remains high and activity is mixed: large buy and sell moves by different funds have been reported in recent filings, so institutional flow is not clearly one-directional. MarketBeat: institutional activity
• Negative Sentiment: Senior management insider selling: General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares (around $1.1M) on March 17, reducing his holding by ~31%. Multiple recent insider sales by executives have been highlighted by data aggregators, which can weigh on sentiment even if sales are routine or for diversification. InsiderTrades: Marcus sale

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.06.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.