Natural Investments LLC Has $362,000 Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Natural Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 29.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in CME Group by 206.9% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 84.3% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total transaction of $98,475.57. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,508 shares in the company, valued at $2,470,463.64. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $102,704.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,962. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0%

CME Group stock opened at $271.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.41. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.94 and a 52 week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $303.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $246.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $281.00.

CME Group 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.