F m Investments LLC Invests $1.52 Million in CME Group Inc. $CME

F m Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Jessup Wealth Management Inc raised its holdings in CME Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 0.8% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.71.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at $287,511.23. This trade represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,147 shares of company stock worth $562,079. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2%

CME stock opened at $281.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $270.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.74. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.62 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

CME Group 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.