3,492 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by Davis Investment Partners LLC

Davis Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $921,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,453 shares during the last quarter. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $503,000. Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $548,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,169,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $503,939,000 after buying an additional 343,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentinel Trust Co. LBA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $368,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $269.65 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $272.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.75. 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 firm has a market cap of $97.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.89, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $81,951.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,765,601.39. This trade represents a 1.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total value of $1,304,836.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,339,164.96. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.20.

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.