Bellwether Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 29,580 CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 29,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,527,000. CME Group comprises 1.3% of Bellwether Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter worth $82,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $229.66 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $223.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.69. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $82.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.47.

CME Group Company 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.