CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Bought by Moran Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 19.7% in the first quarter, adding 12,758 shares to bring its total to 77,465 shares worth about $22.9 million.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.36 and revenue of $1.88 billion, both above analyst expectations and up 14.5% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share and maintains a 2.2% yield, while analysts currently have a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $300.94.

Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 19.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,758 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up 0.7% of Moran Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $22,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,147,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $236.60 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $267.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.28. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $320.00 target price on CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $300.94.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

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