CME Group Inc. $CME Position Increased by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in CME Group by 230.7% in Q2, now holding 3,611 shares worth $995,000 according to SEC filings.
• Insider transactions included Director William R. Shepard purchasing 262 shares at an average price of $265.19, while insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares at $259.83.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $284.53 for CME Group, with ratings varying from "Buy" to "Sell" based on recent evaluations.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 230.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 256.9% during the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $258,000. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,416,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Inv LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $2,712,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total transaction of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.53.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $269.54 on Friday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $266.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.78. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.94 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.41.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

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.

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