Prostatis Group LLC Takes Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Prostatis Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $285.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,486,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,185,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $103.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $287.05. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $269.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.66.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted 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. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CME. Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $256.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,400 shares of company stock worth $6,533,180 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.