Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Invests $1.63 Million in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,633,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its position in shares of CME Group by 66.5% during the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 45,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,708,000 after buying an additional 18,017 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,455,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 312.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,222,000 after purchasing an additional 42,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in CME Group by 429.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,231,000 after buying an additional 38,540 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $227.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $219.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.10. The firm has a market cap of $81.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Four equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,055 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.