Prospera Private Wealth LLC Takes $3.62 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,618,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth about $76,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

CME Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $229.66 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $230.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $223.02 and a 200-day moving average of $210.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $82.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.55.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.