CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Garde Capital Inc.

Garde Capital Inc. boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Garde Capital Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 966.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 other news, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,673,946.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,290 shares of company stock worth $2,957,300 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded up $3.52 on Friday, reaching $199.83. 2,373,846 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,146,911. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $223.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.93. The company has a market cap of $71.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on CME Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.64.

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.