Crestline Management LP Purchases New Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Crestline Management LP purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,501,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:CME traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $268.34. The company had a trading volume of 3,001,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,169,517. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $96.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $264.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $246.09. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $286.48.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,726 shares of company stock valued at $8,975,813. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CME. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.80.

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.