CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Position Increased by Martin Capital Partners LLC

Martin Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,549 shares during the period. CME Group makes up about 3.3% of Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $8,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 191.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $262.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $249.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.06.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded CME Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.81.

CME Group 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.