William Shepard, a director at CME Group (CME), recently bought 293 shares. The buy increased his stake by less than 1%, and came to a total cost of $63,945.
Shepard was the last insider buyer with a 326 share pickup back in June, for the same cost. And again in March. One other director has been a buyer over the past two years, otherwise company insiders have been periodic sellers of shares.
Overall, CME Group insiders own 0.4% of shares.
The stock exchange operator is up 9% over the past year, far lagging the overall stock market. Earnings and revenues are both up about 13% over the same timeframe, reflecting a trend higher in trading volume over the past year. CME also sports a hefty 57% profit margin.
CME Group benefits from ongoing transactions in financial markets, including rising options trading and increased trading in cryptocurrency markets.
Shares trade at about 21 times forward earnings, about in-line with the overall market. Given the company’s high profit margin, increased market activity could lead to a boom for shares.
Action to take: CME shares have been trending higher since the summer and look set to break higher in the months ahead. The stock also pays a 2.1% dividend, which has a history of growth over time.
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.