William R. Shepard Acquires 60 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director William R. Shepard bought 60 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $227.96 per share, for a total transaction of $13,677.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $554,398.72. This trade represents a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $232.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.77. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $83.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $313,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 47,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 26,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,168,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in CME Group by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,069,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,328,000 after purchasing an additional 203,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.