CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Holdings Boosted by MCF Advisors LLC

MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $261,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $385,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.70.

CME Group Stock Up 1.1 %

CME Group stock opened at $215.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $77.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $214.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.89.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.83% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.86%.

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.