Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Raises Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for 0.8% of Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 22.4% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 81,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,448,000 after acquiring an additional 14,921 shares during the last quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth about $136,000. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 43.3% in the second quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 28,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,871,000 after purchasing an additional 8,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EWA LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $202,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,470,463.64. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $265.43 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.94 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The firm has a market cap of $95.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $270.28 and a 200 day moving average of $271.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Citigroup upgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $246.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $303.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $274.15.

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.