CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Insider Julie Winkler Sells 10,079 Shares of Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) insider Julie Winkler sold 10,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.15, for a total transaction of $3,075,606.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,555,232.30. This trade represents a 31.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

CME Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $3.10 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $306.24. 1,866,923 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,108,085. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $280.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $110.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CME. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its holdings in CME Group by 87.5% in the third quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 2,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 14,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,764,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 139.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,410,000 after buying an additional 7,582 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. now owns 1,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $281.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.44.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group’s exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.