CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 125.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,580 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Caldwell Trust Co lifted its position in CME Group by 116.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,791 shares of company stock valued at $2,489,421. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Trading Down 2.0%

CME stock opened at $281.25 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $301.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.17 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.29.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.