2,900 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.73.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

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

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $216.30 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $223.80.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

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.