RFG Advisory LLC Acquires Shares of 2,599 CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• RFG Advisory LLC purchased 2,599 shares of CME Group Inc., valued at approximately $716,000, during the second quarter.
• Insider Timothy Francis McCourt sold 379 shares of CME Group for about $98,475, while Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares worth approximately $69,480.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on CME Group, with seven giving a Buy rating, seven a Hold, and two a Sell rating, while Citigroup raised the stock's price target from $275 to $300.

RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $716,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group by 59.2% in the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its position in CME Group by 4.0% in the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in CME Group by 84.3% in the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $283.71.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $267.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.94 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The stock has a market cap of $96.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $267.30 and a 200 day moving average of $271.32.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 48.40%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CME? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.