Insider Selling: CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) CEO Sells 40,000 Shares of Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

CME Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:CME traded down $1.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $208.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,868,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,207. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.73 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $214.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.69.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $217.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Peterson Wealth Services grew its stake in CME Group by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 7,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,522,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 105,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,812,000 after buying an additional 26,536 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $237,000. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its position in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 10,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $321,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Company 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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