Lynne Fitzpatrick Sells 754 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $218.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,976,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,951,809. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $206.63 and its 200 day moving average is $207.48. The company has a market cap of $78.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CME. Bank of America lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.