WCM Investment Management LLC Has $5.78 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

WCM Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 335 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at $377,000. Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $548,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 43,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,443,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 63.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 105,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,867,000 after buying an additional 40,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 111.2% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the sale, the director owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $258.20.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $275.82 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $276.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.35. The firm has a market cap of $99.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.17 and a 12 month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

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.