220,590 Shares in CME Group Inc. $CME Purchased by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 220,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $57,790,000. CME Group makes up about 1.3% of Sound Income Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH acquired a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $270.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.06.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total transaction of $140,055.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,450.76. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock traded up $4.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $280.56. The company had a trading volume of 2,593,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,533,263. The company has a market capitalization of $100.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $218.31 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $272.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group’s history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.