Stance Capital LLC Makes New $1.33 Million Investment in CME Group Inc. $CME

Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,330,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Jessup Wealth Management Inc increased its holdings in CME Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,962. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,147 shares of company stock valued at $562,079. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $273.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.32. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $224.62 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $98.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.28.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $290.00.

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.