Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Acquires 1,088 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $19,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 612.5% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at $863,651.04. This trade represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Larry G. Gerdes sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $528,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 38,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,207,729.10. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $2.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $277.53. 2,452,200 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,177,857. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.25 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $276.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.92.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on CME shares. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.80.

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.