U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,851 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $8,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.07.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $2.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $223.21. The company had a trading volume of 734,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,932,018. The company has a market cap of $80.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $217.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.53. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $230.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company 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.