Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New $12.43 Million Investment in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers purchased 56,285 shares of CME Group worth approximately $12.43 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 87.75% of the company.
• CME Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.99, exceeding analysts’ $2.91 estimate, while revenue reached $1.71 billion and rose 0.8% year over year. The company also declared a $1.30 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.9% annual yield.
• Analyst views remain mixed: CME has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $291.81, with recent upgrades to “Buy” and downgrades to “Strong Sell” and “Hold.”

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 56,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,429,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 2,075.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its position in CME Group by 191.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.4%

CME opened at $271.54 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $218.31 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $250.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $279.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded CME Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $291.81.

CME Group Company Profile

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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