EP Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 108 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during 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 last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.20.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

CME Group stock opened at $237.19 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $229.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.79. The firm has a market cap of $85.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About CME Group

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.