Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Raises Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 176,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,784 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.7% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $38,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bluefin Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,891,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in CME Group by 81.4% in the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,588,000 after buying an additional 19,985 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its stake in CME Group by 66.5% in the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 45,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,708,000 after buying an additional 18,017 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in CME Group by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,184,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of CME opened at $221.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $226.78. The stock has a market cap of $79.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.64.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.