Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS Purchases Shares of 14,178 CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS acquired 14,178 shares of CME Group Inc. valued at approximately $3.76 million during the first quarter, indicating increasing interest from institutional investors.
• Multiple analysts have recently adjusted their ratings and price targets for CME Group, with some firms like Morgan Stanley raising the price target to $304, while others have downgraded the stock to a "sell" rating.
• CME Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 1.80% and reflects a healthy dividend payout ratio of 48.40%.

Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS bought a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 14,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,761,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,107,389,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in CME Group by 89.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,923,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 32,941.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,858,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $493,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853,261 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,366,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $781,869,000 after purchasing an additional 939,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 4,216.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 922,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $214,301,000 after purchasing an additional 901,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,152,410. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $299.00 to $298.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME traded up $2.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $279.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,834,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,117,443. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $100.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.25 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $276.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.48.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.40%.

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.