CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) CEO Sells $8,436,400.00 in Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $207.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $214.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.64. The company has a market cap of $74.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.48. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.73 and a 12 month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CME. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 25.5% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 12.3% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 68,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,662,000 after buying an additional 1,476 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 14.5% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 46,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,368,000 after buying an additional 5,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.80.

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.