1,059 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Bought by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $2.37 on Friday, hitting $279.55. 1,834,736 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,117,443. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $276.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $262.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.25 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The company has a market cap of $100.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current 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 1.79%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $299.00 to $298.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the company's 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 $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,400 shares of company stock worth $3,152,410. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.