CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in CME Group by 0.9%, owning 144,625 shares valued at approximately $38.37 million at the end of the latest reporting period.
• CME Group reported earnings of $2.96 per share, surpassing expectations and marking a 10.4% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $1.69 billion for the quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, leading to an annualized yield of 1.8% with a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 144,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in CME Group were worth $38,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in CME Group by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 86,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,190,000 after acquiring an additional 19,533 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 2,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 18,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,399,000 after buying an additional 6,727 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,758,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $128,216,000 after buying an additional 7,525 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CME. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler increased 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. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $280.76 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.62 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business's fifty day moving average price is $276.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.40%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value of $294,552.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at $863,651.04. This trade represents a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,294 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About CME Group

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.