Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 14,580 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its CME Group stake by 125.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 14,580 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 26,189 shares worth about $7.15 million.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.36 and revenue of $1.88 billion, both beating analyst expectations; revenue rose 14.5% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $305.29.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 125.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,580 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $7,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Caldwell Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,791 shares of company stock worth $2,489,421. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Down 2.0%

CME Group stock opened at $281.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $257.17 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $301.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $287.27.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $305.29.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

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