Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Acquires New Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 61,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,358,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $2.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $284.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 953,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,155,183. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $264.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $286.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total value of $271,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $790,781.20. This trade represents a 25.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total transaction of $1,304,836.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,339,164.96. The trade was a 35.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,726 shares of company stock worth $8,975,813. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $256.80.

About CME Group

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.