Trajan Wealth LLC Buys 1,905 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Trajan Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $220,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 87.5% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 26.6% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,633,000. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 6.3% in the third quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $227.09 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $219.69 and its 200-day moving average is $209.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,721 shares of company stock worth $2,105,055 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CME. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.73.

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.