Weaver Consulting Group Takes $223,000 Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Weaver Consulting Group bought a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Wills Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. Wills Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in CME Group by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $492,072,000 after purchasing an additional 237,800 shares in the last quarter. Taika Capital LP boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 19.8% during the third quarter. Taika Capital LP now owns 4,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $953,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Stansberry Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Stansberry Asset Management LLC now owns 41,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,189,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in CME Group by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $246.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $227.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.77. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,028 shares of company stock worth $1,811,681 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.