CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Bought by Sax Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Sax Wealth Advisors increased its CME Group holdings by 183.1% in the third quarter, bringing its position to 8,615 shares valued at approximately $2.26 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 87.75% of CME shares.
• CME Group reported quarterly earnings of $2.99 per share, exceeding the $2.91 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.71 billion and rose 0.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $292.06. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equivalent to a 1.9% yield.

Sax Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 183.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,572 shares during the period. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $2,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth $6,749,965,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $769,376,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $629,771,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $622,679,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Elizabeth Cook sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,916 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,450.76. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total transaction of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CME Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Nine 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 MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $292.06.

CME Group Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ CME opened at $278.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $99.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $272.60 and a 200-day moving average of $270.72.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.11%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group's history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.

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