Parvin Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 975 CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. 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. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $256.80.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,076 shares of company stock worth $7,399,696 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $272.36 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $273.42. The company has a market cap of $98.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $259.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.62.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

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.