GoalVest Advisory LLC Raises Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 62.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $70,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,824. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,400 shares of company stock worth $6,533,180. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Erste Group Bank cut shares of CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.80.

CME Group Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of CME stock opened at $285.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $103.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $287.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $269.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.