CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 83.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,461 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 15.9% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 82,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,495,000 after buying an additional 11,307 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 119,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,943,000 after buying an additional 2,726 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 522.2% during the third quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 14,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,839,000 after buying an additional 11,900 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,579,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $716,604,000 after buying an additional 125,263 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $196.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $205.30 and a 200-day moving average of $208.61. The company has a market cap of $70.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.11 and a 12-month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. CME Group’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 price objective (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total value of $211,520.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,858,336.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total value of $211,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,858,336.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.