CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Independent Advisor Alliance

Key Points

• Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in CME Group by 10.6% in Q1, bringing its holdings to 9,767 shares valued at $2,591,000.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on CME Group, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and varying target prices, including a recent increase by Morgan Stanley from $301 to $304.
• CME Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing a 1.7% dividend yield, with payment scheduled for September 25th.

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in CME Group were worth $2,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 256.9% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636 shares during the period. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $258,000. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $548,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock traded up $0.78 on Thursday, reaching $274.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,971,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,347,696. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.16 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $99.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $275.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.60. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at $863,651.04. This represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 258,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,450 shares of company stock worth $676,663 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by 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.