NewEdge Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,733 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised 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 buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $220.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $79.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $210.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.42. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid 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 2.08%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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 began coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.54.

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.