Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Makes New $2.33 Million Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,331,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of CME Group by 29.0% during 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $268,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of CME Group by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 8,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,692 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $260.93.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

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 transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total value of $271,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This represents 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. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $0.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $275.19. 1,602,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,197,116. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $258.98. The firm has a market cap of $99.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.17 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors 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 yield of 1.82%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

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.