CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 73.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,076 shares of company stock worth $7,670,976 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.80.

CME Group Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $282.56 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $284.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $262.03 and a 200-day moving average of $244.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $101.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.22, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 50.30%.

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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