Golden State Equity Partners Takes $340,000 Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Golden State Equity Partners purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.8 %

CME stock opened at $210.94 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.73 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $214.73 and its 200-day moving average is $211.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.49.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 2.18%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Argus increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased 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, Barclays increased 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. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.80.

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.