CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Bought by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 9.1%, acquiring an additional 12,350 shares, bringing its total ownership to 148,785 shares worth approximately $41 million.
• The CME Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.68, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.63, but its revenue decreased by 3.0% compared to last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%, and currently has a dividend payout ratio of 48.40%.

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 148,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,350 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 0.8% of Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in CME Group were worth $41,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position 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 worth $971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636 shares during the period. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter worth $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter worth $258,000. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Inv LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $2,712,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $268.90 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The stock has a market cap of $96.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $266.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler increased their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $266.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $284.53.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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