Forum Financial Management LP Has $1.40 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Forum Financial Management LP lowered its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 41.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,293 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $218.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $79.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.21. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $271.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.49. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.CME Group’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.24.

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.