Iowa State Bank Purchases 6,790 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Iowa State Bank bought a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 6,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,779,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $612,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,671,000. Haverford Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $13,818,000. Bowie Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $22,991,000. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $7,504,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of CME traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $269.28. The company had a trading volume of 463,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,527,826. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $271.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.97. The firm has a market cap of $96.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.94.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Elizabeth Cook sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,450.76. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total transaction of $4,116,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,150,497.20. This represents a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group 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.