Creative Planning Grows Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Creative Planning lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 51,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $226.17 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $230.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $217.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.07.

CME Group 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.