AJOVista LLC Acquires Shares of 270 CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

AJOVista LLC bought a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $57,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 966.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 1,233.3% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $208.91 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.73 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $214.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.49.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.