Regal Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 273 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.54.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $218.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $209.70 and its 200-day moving average is $207.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were 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 owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.