Global Assets Advisory LLC Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,952,273,000 after acquiring an additional 326,623 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,946,717,000 after purchasing an additional 104,697 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,923,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,107,389,000. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its stake in CME Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $947,821,000 after purchasing an additional 61,908 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 research report on Monday, March 10th. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.20.

CME Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of CME traded down $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $272.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,426,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,228,157. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $192.11 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $274.76 and a 200-day moving average of $256.04.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

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.