CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Acquired by Western Wealth Management LLC

Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1,432.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,673 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in CME Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,147,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $267.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $96.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $250.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.05. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. CME Group’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.81.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.