Modera Wealth Management LLC Buys 1,348 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 28.0%, acquiring an additional 1,348 shares, bringing its total ownership to 6,165 shares valued at approximately $1,635,000.
• Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of CME Group's stock, with significant increases in holdings reported by several hedge funds, including Wellington Management Group, which grew its stake by 202.2%.
• CME Group recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.96 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a dividend of $1.25 per share, reflecting a 1.8% yield for shareholders.

Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 28.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,348 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in CME Group by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 86,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,190,000 after purchasing an additional 19,533 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in CME Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 43,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 202.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 564,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $130,983,000 after acquiring an additional 377,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $278.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.25 and a 1-year high of $290.79.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, 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 value of $294,552.80. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,400 shares of company stock worth $2,881,130 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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