Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Buys 15,143 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lifted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 72.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,143 shares during the quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 256.9% during the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares during the last quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $548,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 43,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 63.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 105,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,867,000 after acquiring an additional 40,592 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $5.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $277.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,142,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,185,570. The company's 50-day moving average price is $276.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.49. The company has a market capitalization of $99.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.17 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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 firm's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 50.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. Barclays raised 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $259.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,470. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at $863,651.04. This trade represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Company 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.