Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Buys Shares of 3,945 CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,673,946.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other CME Group news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total value of $211,520.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,858,336.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,673,946.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,676,444. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $187.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus upped 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $217.80.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of CME traded up $1.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $211.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,333,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,763,710. The company has a fifty day moving average of $212.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.33. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.73 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The company has a market cap of $76.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The business's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

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.