New York Life Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,823,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,118,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,867,000 after buying an additional 46,021 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,986,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $207.47 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $74.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.48. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.73 and a 1-year high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $214.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.67.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.