Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Grows Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 44.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 987 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WESPAC Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $1,021,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.2% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Sharkey Howes & Javer acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $217,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 109.8% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 174,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,195,000 after acquiring an additional 91,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total value of $1,304,836.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total value of $271,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,915 shares in the company, valued at $790,781.20. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $275.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.25 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $276.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $260.93.

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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