Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. Takes Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 6,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,903,000. CME Group comprises approximately 0.4% of Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,333,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth approximately $1,204,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,138,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,500,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,737,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $280.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $253.01 and its 200 day moving average is $279.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $218.31 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $288.56.

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.