Family Firm Inc. Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $92,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Second Half Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,737,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,041,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,230,000 after purchasing an additional 23,340 shares in the last quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,891,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its position in shares of CME Group by 81.4% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,588,000 after acquiring an additional 19,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its position in shares of CME Group by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.27.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total transaction of $130,936.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,821,771.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME traded down $2.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $207.05. 1,273,912 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,924,431. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $199.69 and a 200 day moving average of $207.14. The stock has a market cap of $74.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

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.