Peak Retirement Planning Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Peak Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 39.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Peak Retirement Planning Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caldwell Trust Co increased its position in CME Group by 116.3% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of CME stock opened at $290.77 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.12 and a 12-month high of $293.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $275.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.39.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Argus reduced their price objective on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.18.

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.