1,067 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by Orion Capital Management LLC

Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $284.07. 2,323,467 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,191,674. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $267.83 and a 200-day moving average of $249.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $286.48. The firm has a market cap of $102.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total transaction of $817,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,824. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,384 shares of company stock worth $7,531,053. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $256.80.

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.