William Shepard Buys 325 Shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director William Shepard bought 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $220.83 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $270.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $285.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.21. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Erste Group Bank cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group restated an “overweight” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.94.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Director William Shepard bought 325 shares of CME at $230.57, a small insider purchase that can signal confidence in the stock’s longer-term outlook. Insider Buying: CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Director Purchases 325 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: A recent article highlighted CME as one of several oversold stocks, which may suggest the pullback has pushed the shares into technically attractive territory for some investors. CME Group (CME): 11 Oversold Tech Stocks to Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect CME’s next quarterly earnings report to show only low single-digit profit growth, implying steady but not especially strong near-term fundamentals. What to Expect From CME Group’s Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha note said CME’s recent pullback does not change its hold-style view, suggesting some analysts see the decline as valuation-driven rather than a major change in business fundamentals. CME Group’s Pullback Does Not Change The Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs lowered its price target on CME and maintained a sell rating, reinforcing a cautious outlook from at least one major Wall Street firm. Goldman Sachs adjusts price target on CME Group
• Negative Sentiment: A market recap said CME was among the financial sector’s losers in the quarter, adding to the tone of recent weakness in the shares. Financial sector climbs in Q2 as Robinhood leads gainers, CME heads losers

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 2,075.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.