West Michigan Advisors LLC Has $2.30 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 11.4%, holding 8,668 shares valued at $2.3 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• The company reported $2.96 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $1.69 billion, up 10.4% from the previous year.
• CME Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, translating to an annual dividend payout of $5.00 and a yield of 1.7%.

West Michigan Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 11.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 884 shares during the quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $2,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 612.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the first quarter worth $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Down 0.1%

CME traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $280.95. 1,675,975 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,046,526. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $101.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $275.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.32. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $202.35 and a one year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,294 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CME. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays set a $298.00 price objective on CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

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.