HCR Wealth Advisors Boosts Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

HCR Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in CME Group were worth $1,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 1,279.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 12,782 shares in the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 86,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,084,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. YCG LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 101.3% in the 2nd quarter. YCG LLC now owns 121,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,856,000 after purchasing an additional 61,074 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 87.8% in the 2nd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

CME opened at $220.50 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.54. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The company has a market capitalization of $79.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CME. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America cut CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.73.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.