Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 40,592 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 63.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 40,592 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $27,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,453 shares during the last quarter. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $503,000. Aspire Growth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $548,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in CME Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 43,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in CME Group by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,169,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $503,939,000 after acquiring an additional 343,498 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total transaction of $1,304,836.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,339,164.96. This represents a 35.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 6,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $258.20.

CME Group Stock Up 0.7%

CME Group stock opened at $273.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $192.11 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

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.

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