Sigma Planning Corp Buys 2,489 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 23.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,489 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in CME Group were worth $3,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 86,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,190,000 after buying an additional 19,533 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $268,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 67,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,642,000 after buying an additional 3,644 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 182,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,495,000 after buying an additional 17,575 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $277.06 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $276.47 and a 200-day moving average of $259.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.25 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. CME Group's payout ratio is 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Four 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $260.93.

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.

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