7,582 CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Purchased by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 139.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,582 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH acquired a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up from $295.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.44.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $317.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,579,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,061,318. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.54.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 42.66%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 10,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.15, for a total value of $3,075,606.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,482 shares in the company, valued at $6,555,232.30. This trade represents a 31.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 33,511 shares of company stock worth $9,714,580 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group operates a global marketplace for derivatives and other financial products. Through its exchanges—CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX—it offers futures and options contracts tied to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company also provides clearing and settlement services, market data and related products. Its electronic trading platform, CME Globex, supports access to its markets by participants around the world, alongside its open-outcry and privately negotiated trading services.