Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Grows Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 9.3%, holding 73,643 shares worth approximately $19.54 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on CME Group, with Piper Sandler raising their price target to $296 and Wall Street Zen downgrading it to a "sell," reflecting varied market sentiment.
• CME Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, which will be distributed to shareholders on September 25th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,261 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $19,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,643,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,190,661,000 after buying an additional 400,737 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in CME Group by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,923,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 9.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,113,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,091,401,000 after acquiring an additional 363,130 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in CME Group by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,943,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $915,788,000 after acquiring an additional 403,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in CME Group by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,135,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $728,260,000 after buying an additional 621,713 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CME shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $270.53 per share, with a total value of $69,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,215. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.5%

CME Group stock traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $273.32. 1,325,359 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,330,801. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.44 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50-day moving average price is $275.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.90. 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 (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.40%.

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.