Berry Wealth Group LP Buys New Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Berry Wealth Group LP bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,034 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,377,000. CME Group accounts for about 3.1% of Berry Wealth Group LP's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,823,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,074,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in CME Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,118,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $223,867,000 after acquiring an additional 46,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,986,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ CME traded down $1.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $208.07. 1,868,881 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,779,207. The business's 50 day moving average is $214.65 and its 200-day moving average is $211.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.73 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 52.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Argus upped their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $217.80.

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.