LPL Financial LLC Acquires 56,394 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its ownership of CME Group Inc. by 35.7%, acquiring an additional 56,394 shares, bringing its total holdings to 214,163 shares valued at approximately $56.8 million.
• Major investors like Price T Rowe Associates and Massachusetts Financial Services have also significantly increased their positions in CME Group, reflecting growing institutional interest in the stock.
• Recent analyst ratings reveal a mixed outlook, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock to "sell," while others like Morgan Stanley and Oppenheimer set higher price targets of $304 and $303, respectively.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 35.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 214,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 56,394 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.06% of CME Group worth $56,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,403 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,304,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,052,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its holdings in CME Group by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 5,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 2.7% during the first quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 29,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,864,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,339,164.96. This represents a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,881,130 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $2.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $280.76. The company had a trading volume of 3,011,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,115. The company has a market cap of $101.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.62 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The business's 50-day moving average is $276.07 and its 200 day moving average is $264.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays set a $298.00 price target on CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

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.