Cozad Asset Management Inc. Invests $263,000 in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired 990 shares of CME Group Inc. worth approximately $263,000 in the 1st quarter, marking its first position in the company.
• Multiple hedge funds have significantly increased their stakes in CME Group, with Price T Rowe Associates raising its position by 89.9% in the fourth quarter, now owning over 8 million shares valued at nearly $1.9 billion.
• CME Group recently reported an earnings per share of $2.96 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $1.69 billion, representing a 10.4% increase year-over-year.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 990 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total value of $1,304,836.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,339,164.96. The trade was a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the director directly owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,881,130 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME traded up $2.48 on Friday, reaching $280.76. 3,011,041 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,073,115. The company's 50-day moving average price is $276.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.89. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.62 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $101.17 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

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.