CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stake Boosted by Marcum Wealth LLC

Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 86.6% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,675 shares in the last quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 9,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 800,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,370,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 151,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,295,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 9,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,853,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total transaction of $130,936.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,821,771.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total transaction of $130,936.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares in the company, valued at $2,821,771.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $194.48 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.97 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $206.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.30.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $206.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Friday. Argus boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

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.