CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Holdings Raised by Lido Advisors LLC

Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the quarter. Lido Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,107,389,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 89.9% during the 4th 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $565,671,000 after purchasing an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded up $2.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $282.56. 1,510,482 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,160,658. 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 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $283.09. The firm's 50-day moving average is $261.34 and its 200-day moving average is $243.84. The stock has a market cap of $101.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total value of $271,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,076 shares of company stock valued at $7,670,976 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $256.80.

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.