Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 66.1% during the second 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. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Down 0.7 %

CME Group stock opened at $213.16 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $223.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $76.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 transaction of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.