Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Has $7.91 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $299.00 to $298.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $279.55 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.25 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $100.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $276.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.72.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.40%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,152,410 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.