GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 4,236 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,236 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 206.9% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 122.2% during the first 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 during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 84.3% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.19.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of CME stock opened at $265.49 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.94 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The stock has a market cap of $95.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $265.83 and a 200-day moving average of $272.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,056,962. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,734,436.80. This trade represents a 40.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.