First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 804 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $959,260,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $253,563,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in CME Group by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,072,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,575 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in CME Group by 31.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,772,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was 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 owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $226.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $206.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $196.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $203.84 and its 200-day moving average is $208.24. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.11 and a 1-year high of $223.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $70.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

About CME Group

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.