Advisor Resource Council Invests $266,000 in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,453 shares during the last quarter. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Aspire Growth Partners LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $548,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in CME Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 43,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 111.2% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $81,951.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,767 shares in the company, valued at $6,765,601.39. This trade represents a 1.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of CME traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $271.44. 1,467,287 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,225,716. The stock has a market cap of $97.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $192.11 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The stock's 50-day moving average is $274.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of several research reports. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $258.20.

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.