Krilogy Financial LLC Acquires 4,185 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 205.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,185 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter worth about $6,749,965,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $769,376,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $629,771,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $622,679,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $270.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CME Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 293 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $268.76 per share, with a total value of $78,746.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 263,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total transaction of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. The trade was a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $289.46 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $273.52 and its 200 day moving average is $270.60. The stock has a market cap of $104.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during 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 period last year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group’s history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.