CME Group Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.25 (NASDAQ:CME)

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of 1.25 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th.

CME Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. CME Group has a payout ratio of 43.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect CME Group to earn $10.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 45.5%.

CME Group Price Performance

CME traded up $3.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $271.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,847,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,927. The stock has a market cap of $97.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a one year low of $220.41 and a one year high of $290.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $265.57 and a 200-day moving average of $272.19.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,511.23. This trade represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 14,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,791,486 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 206.9% in the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 84.3% during the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CME Group

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.