Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Boosts Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,386 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at $41,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $220.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $79.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.73.

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.