Western Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Western Wealth Management purchased 11,765 CME Group shares worth approximately $2.6 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of the company.
• CME Group exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.99 in EPS and $1.71 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 0.8% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $12.27.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equivalent to $5.20 annually and a 1.9% yield. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $288.56.

Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,598,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CME. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,749,965,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,523,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $769,376,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $629,771,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $277.32 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $218.31 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The stock's fifty day moving average is $251.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $288.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group 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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