Oak Thistle LLC Buys New Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $587,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Second Half Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,737,000. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,823,000. Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $2,891,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,074,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,673,946.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded down $1.10 on Monday, reaching $195.50. 2,092,504 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,902,649. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $70.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.52. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.11 and a 12 month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus increased their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

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.