Global Retirement Partners LLC Boosts Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 71.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,306 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 191.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 197.4% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $289.29 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.10. 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 12-month low of $257.17 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $104.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,244 shares of company stock worth $14,598,037. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Two equities 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.29.

CME Group Company Profile

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.