William Shepard, a director at
CME Group (CME), recently bought 1,390 shares. The buy increased his position by 1 percent, and came to a total cost of $281,368.
The director was also a buyer in late December, acquiring 278 shares at a cost just under $59,000. Over the past year, the director has made a number of other insider buys, even as other company directors and officers have been regular and consistent sellers of CME shares.
Overall, CME Group insiders own 0.4 percent of shares.
The owner and operator of a number of global stock and commodity exchanges rose 15 percent in the last year. That’s lagged the overall market by about 25 percent.
While stock trading is still well below its late 2021 peak, trends are positive with revenues up 9 percent for CME Group in the last year.
Action to take: Shares aren’t an extreme value at 22 times forward earnings. But CME Group owns a number of key exchanges and the oligopolistic industry is leading to massive 57 percent profit margins.
Investors may like shares here, and to add to their stake on any dip lower. CME Group also pays a 4.8 percent dividend at current prices.
For traders, shares are trending higher after a recent pullback. The June $220 calls, last going for about $4.60, could see mid-double-digit returns from here on a further rally in shares.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.
