Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 25,165 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 251.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,165 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in CME Group by 206.9% in the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 84.3% in the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 105.0% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $279.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $268.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.83. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.62 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $100.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on CME Group from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,470,463.64. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,791,486. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About CME Group

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.