Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Purchases 2,423 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,423 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in CME Group were worth $23,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 966.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total value of $130,936.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,008 shares in the company, valued at $2,821,771.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME traded down $1.10 on Monday, hitting $195.50. 2,092,504 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,902,649. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $205.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.11 and a 12 month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on CME shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price objective (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $206.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.90.

CME Group 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.