CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) CEO Terrence Duffy Sells 15,000 Shares

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total transaction of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $275.54 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The stock has a market cap of $99.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $263.56 and its 200-day moving average is $277.42.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 2,075.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Bayban acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for a broad range of financial and commodity products. Its exchange platforms enable participants to manage risk, discover prices and gain exposure to asset classes including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, metals, agricultural commodities and digital assets.

The company’s principal marketplaces include CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX. Products are offered through futures and options contracts, with electronic trading available through CME Globex as well as exchange-based and privately negotiated transactions.