CME Group Inc. $CME Stock: Wedmont Private Capital Boosts Holdings

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 131.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,583 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in CME Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 5,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in CME Group by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $270.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.06.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $280.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $272.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.26.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Elizabeth Cook sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,450.76. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total transaction of $4,116,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at $11,150,497.20. This represents a 26.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group’s history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.