CME Group Inc. $CME Position Increased by Zuckerman Investment Group LLC

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 68.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 122.2% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 612.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,849,763.88. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.7%

CME stock opened at $271.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $97.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $275.89 and its 200 day moving average is $268.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.10 and a 1-year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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 Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays set a $298.00 price target on shares of CME Group and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $261.93.

CME Group Company 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.