Kestra Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 3,011.4% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 6,625 shares, bringing its total holdings to 6,845 shares valued at $1,816,000.
• Insider trading activity included Director William R. Shepard purchasing 256 shares for approximately $69,255, while insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares for over $3.2 million, representing a significant reduction in his ownership.
• CME Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.00 with a yield of 1.9%.

Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3,011.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,625 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 122.2% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 612.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 256 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,734,436.80. This trade represents a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $259.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,630,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,871,373. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $274.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.18. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.38 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $93.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given 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 is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays set a $298.00 price target on shares of CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $260.60.

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.