CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock: Insider Howard Siegel Sells 2,000 Shares

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Howard Siegel sold 2,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.00, for a total transaction of $606,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,021,519. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

CME Group Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:CME traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $304.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,699,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,497,197. The company has a market capitalization of $109.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $280.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.20.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 42.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up from $295.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. CLSA set a $367.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Brookmont Capital Management boosted its stake in CME Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 5,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in CME Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY increased its stake in CME Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in CME Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 5,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s market-data revenue reached a record $243 million last quarter, providing a recurring revenue stream alongside trading-related income. Trading activity was also described as strong across several markets, which may support near-term results. CME Group market-data revenue article
• Neutral Sentiment: The CFTC has cleared stock perpetual futures for trading on U.S. registered exchanges. This could broaden the products available in the futures market, but the report does not specify the impact on CME Group. Article on CFTC approval of stock perpetual futures
• Negative Sentiment: Two insiders sold shares on Nov. 2. Julie Winkler sold 10,079 shares, reducing her position by about 32%, while director Howard Siegel sold 2,000 shares, reducing his holding by about 9%. Insider sales can weigh on sentiment, though both retained shares and the transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s outlook. CME Group insider sales report

About CME Group

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group’s exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.