Smith Salley Wealth Management Buys 240 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of CME Group by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 685,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $148,879,000 after acquiring an additional 39,101 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 3.1% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 19,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,243,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in CME Group by 1,417.9% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 15,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,450,000 after buying an additional 14,604 shares during the period. Finally, Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 28,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,187,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $226.14 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $218.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.89. The company has a market cap of $81.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.07.

CME Group 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.