CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by America First Investment Advisors LLC

America First Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 97,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,122 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for 4.8% of America First Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. America First Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $21,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 21.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in CME Group by 429.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,231,000 after buying an additional 38,540 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 30,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 99,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,518,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 197.2% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $228.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $82.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $223.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.81. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock worth $3,441,063 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.