Carnegie Investment Counsel Acquires 125,087 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1,102.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 136,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 125,087 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 0.8% of Carnegie Investment Counsel's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in CME Group were worth $36,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in CME Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in CME Group by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $2.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $279.55. The company's stock 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 current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $100.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $276.37 and a 200-day moving average of $261.89. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.25 and a 12 month high of $290.79.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CME. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $299.00 to $298.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total transaction of $817,680.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,824. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,152,410 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group 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.