Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 147 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total transaction of $130,936.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,821,771.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other CME Group news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total value of $130,936.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares in the company, valued at $2,821,771.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $215.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.41. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $223.80. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.27.

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.