Cullen Investment Group LTD. Buys 2,495 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 9.1%, acquiring an additional 2,495 shares, bringing its total holdings to 29,977 shares worth approximately $8.26 million.
• CME Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, payable on September 25th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.9% with a payout ratio of 48.40%.
• The company's latest earnings report indicated a net margin of 58.48% and a revenue increase of 10.4% year-over-year, with earnings per share surpassing analyst expectations.

Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,495 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for 1.2% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $8,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,871,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in CME Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,342,000 after buying an additional 3,790 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth $236,000. Militia Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Invst LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $817,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock traded down $3.47 on Monday, hitting $258.83. 1,806,776 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,812,941. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.38 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $273.13 and a 200-day moving average of $270.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $93.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.43.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CME. UBS Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays set a $298.00 target price on CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $260.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 258,196 shares in the company, valued at $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 17,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,734,436.80. This represents a 40.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently 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.