CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director William R. Shepard Buys 256 Shares

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) Director William R. Shepard purchased 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 258,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock traded up $1.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $274.76. 2,681,948 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,208,080. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.17 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The stock's fifty day moving average is $275.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.68. The company has a market cap of $99.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. CME Group's payout ratio is 50.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CME. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $258.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Company 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.