WESPAC Advisors LLC Takes $1.02 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

WESPAC Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,021,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,849,763.88. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,651.04. This trade represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $260.93.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $275.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,531,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,181,193. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.25 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $276.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.44.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 50.30%.

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.