3,487 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Bought by NorthRock Partners LLC

NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $810,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,104,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CME shares. Raymond James raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $256.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total value of $1,304,836.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,434 shares of company stock worth $6,987,065. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $277.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,617,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,179,403. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $100.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $286.48. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $265.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.33.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

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.