1,767 Shares in CME Group Inc. $CME Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,749,965,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $769,376,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $629,771,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $622,679,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CME Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $367.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William Shepard purchased 293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 263,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. This represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Martin Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.50, for a total value of $121,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,636,310. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 15,900 shares of company stock valued at $4,377,655 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.1%

CME opened at $305.71 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $277.60 and a 200-day moving average of $270.74. The company has a market capitalization of $109.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $218.31 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.35 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly results: CME reported third-quarter revenue of approximately $1.74 billion, up 10.6% year over year and above the $1.71 billion consensus estimate. EPS of $3.02 also exceeded expectations of $2.99, while average daily volume reached a record 29.4 million contracts. CME third-quarter revenue article
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto derivatives momentum: CME recorded approximately $469.5 billion in crypto derivatives volume during the third quarter, highlighting growing demand for regulated digital-asset products. The company has not separately disclosed crypto revenue, so the direct earnings contribution remains unclear. CME crypto derivatives volume article
• Positive Sentiment: More bullish analyst coverage: JPMorgan upgraded CME from “underweight” to “overweight” and set a $367 price target, citing improving volume and earnings prospects. Wells Fargo also raised its target to $333. JPMorgan CME rating
• Positive Sentiment: Expansion opportunities: CME plans to launch CME Securities Clearing on December 7, potentially broadening its clearing business. Management also highlighted strong participation and international volume growth. CME Securities Clearing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains debated: UBS lifted its price target from $270 to $310 but retained a “neutral” rating, indicating that much of the improved outlook may already be reflected in the stock. UBS CME rating
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: Director Martin Gepsman sold 400 shares for approximately $121,000. The transaction reduced his holdings by 1.56%, but he still owns 25,244 shares, limiting the sale’s significance. CME director stock sale

About CME Group

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.