Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 612 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $226.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.92. The company has a market cap of $81.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $230.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. CME Group’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

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.