CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Sells $528,200.00 in Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) Director Larry G. Gerdes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $528,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,651 shares in the company, valued at $10,207,729.10. This represents a 4.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $1.45 on Monday, hitting $267.75. 891,061 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,152,740. The company's 50 day moving average price is $258.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CME. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in CME Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $256.80.

About CME Group

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.

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