Central Valley Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Central Valley Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 207 shares during the quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Bluefin Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $2,891,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 81.4% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,588,000 after purchasing an additional 19,985 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its position in CME Group by 66.5% during the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 45,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,708,000 after buying an additional 18,017 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 21.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,477,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,184,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.1 %

CME traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $224.43. 1,585,768 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,959,577. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $212.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.75. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $226.78. The company has a market cap of $80.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised their target price on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.77.

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.