Goldstone Financial Group LLC Takes Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Goldstone Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,265,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,455,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 312.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,222,000 after purchasing an additional 42,996 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 429.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,231,000 after purchasing an additional 38,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in CME Group by 12.2% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 30,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,156,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $227.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $81.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $220.05 and a 200-day moving average of $209.23. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,221 shares of company stock valued at $3,351,895. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.73.

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.