GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 2,694 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 13.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,694 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,949,000 after buying an additional 6,453 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $503,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $377,000. Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $548,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings 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 worth $11,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $272.83. 2,428,655 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,228,157. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $192.11 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $274.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. This trade represents a 9.26% 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, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CME. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.20.

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.