GFG Capital LLC Invests $2.03 Million in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• GFG Capital LLC invested approximately $2.03 million in CME Group Inc., acquiring 7,363 shares during the second quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on CME Group, with six analysts rating it as a Buy and others downgrading it to a Sell, reflecting differing outlooks on the stock's performance.
• CME Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $5.00 and a dividend yield of 1.9%.

GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,029,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in CME Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in CME Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 59.2% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 84.3% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CME Group from $246.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $275.17.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $264.94 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.94 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.06.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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