Sound Income Strategies LLC Acquires New Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired 220,590 shares of CME Group during the third quarter, valued at approximately $57.8 million. The position represents about 1.3% of the fund’s portfolio and 0.06% of CME’s outstanding shares.
• Institutional investors own approximately 87.75% of CME Group, with major changes including BlackRock’s $6.75 billion new stake and Bank of America’s 39.1% increase in holdings.
• CME Group exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.99 in EPS and $1.71 billion in revenue. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $292.06, while the company pays a $1.30 quarterly dividend.

Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 220,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $57,790,000. CME Group makes up approximately 1.3% of Sound Income Strategies LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned about 0.06% of CME Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter worth about $6,749,965,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in CME Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,408,747,000 after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in CME Group by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,019,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,187,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,587 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $867,313,000. Finally, Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $769,376,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 293 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $268.76 per share, with a total value of $78,746.68. Following the transaction, the director owned 263,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. This trade represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,018,450.76. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock traded up $4.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $280.56. 2,593,085 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,533,263. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $272.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on CME Group from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $292.06.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group's history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.

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