Alaethes Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Alaethes Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 233 shares during the quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $2,891,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $9,588,000 after buying an additional 19,985 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of CME Group by 229.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 292,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,618,000 after buying an additional 203,769 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 66.5% during the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 45,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,708,000 after acquiring an additional 18,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in CME Group by 21.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after acquiring an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.73.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $213.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $207.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.53. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

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.