Diversify Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 49.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 35,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,773 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $10,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 11.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in CME Group by 103.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 121,707 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 1,325.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,497,000 after buying an additional 21,918 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,344,000 after acquiring an additional 7,397 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced new products aimed at expanding trading activity, including Treasury LINK for U.S. Treasury spread trading and a new agriculture index that offers a unified benchmark for the global farm economy. CME Group to launch Treasury LINK for enhanced US Treasury spread trading CME Group’s New Agriculture Index Delivers Unified Price Benchmark for the Global Farm Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley kept an overweight rating but lowered its price target on CME to $324 from $353, while Barclays cut its target to $270 and moved to equal weight, signaling reduced near-term expectations but not a fundamentally bearish view. Morgan Stanley cuts CME price target Barclays cuts CME price target
• Negative Sentiment: The CFTC blocked CME’s plan to fast-track 24/7 crude oil futures trading, a setback that could limit a potentially important new revenue stream and raises regulatory risk around product innovation. CFTC to block CME’s plan for 24/7 crude oil futures trading CFTC Blocks for Now CME’s Plan to Offer 24/7 Oil Futures
• Negative Sentiment: Reports also pointed to weaker trading volumes and rising competition weighing on CME Group, which could pressure transaction-based revenue growth if activity remains soft. Competition And Weaker Trading Volumes Are Weighing On CME Group (CME) Stock

CME Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CME traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $240.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,979,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,891,472. The company’s 50-day moving average is $262.66 and its 200-day moving average is $283.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.25. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler set a $320.00 price objective on CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. TD Cowen cut their target price on CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $293.59.

CME Group Profile

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.