CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Purchased by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 34.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,655 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in CME Group by 103.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 121,707 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 1,325.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,497,000 after acquiring an additional 21,918 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter worth about $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,344,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $255.94 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $286.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.36. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $244.56 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CME. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.29.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.