Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership Buys 700 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 15.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up 0.7% of Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 6.5% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 15,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 9.2% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 11,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,313,000 after buying an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 27.0% during the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 3,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.0% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 31,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,183,000 after buying an additional 2,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in CME Group by 16.0% during the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

CME Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CME opened at $218.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 8.85 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 Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $223.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $206.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.48.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. CME Group’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.73.

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.