LifePlan Financial LLC Buys Shares of 1,903 CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

LifePlan Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 9.3% in the third quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in CME Group by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 73,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,186,000 after buying an additional 4,742 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in CME Group by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of CME Group by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 17,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,799,000 after acquiring an additional 6,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.77.

CME Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $224.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $226.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $211.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.71.

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. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 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. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.