CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Sells $226,960.00 in Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1 %

CME traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $227.26. 1,211,235 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,921,584. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $219.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $81.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.73.

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.