Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC Has $3.48 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,166 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock traded up $2.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $279.55. 1,834,735 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,385,450. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.25 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $276.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $261.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,824. This represents a 35.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $863,651.04. This represents a 25.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,152,410. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

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.