Central Valley Advisors LLC Invests $1.24 Million in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,240,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $959,260,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $253,563,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of CME Group by 31.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $972,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,103 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $113,772,000. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth about $86,424,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Argus boosted their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $217.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total transaction of $211,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,858,336.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,640 shares of company stock worth $10,676,444. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $210.35. 1,454,373 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,768,106. The stock has a market cap of $75.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $212.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.31. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.73 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

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.

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