CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Phoenix Wealth Advisors

Phoenix Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 147.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,077 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for 1.7% of Phoenix Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Phoenix Wealth Advisors’ holdings in CME Group were worth $2,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $610,482,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 31.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $972,863,000 after buying an additional 1,163,103 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 261.4% during the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,280,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,320,000 after acquiring an additional 925,939 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in CME Group by 90.0% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,218,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,771,000 after acquiring an additional 577,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 992.8% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 623,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $119,508,000 after acquiring an additional 566,899 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $206.82. 417,341 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,753,226. The business has a fifty day moving average of $214.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.65. The company has a market capitalization of $74.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.73 and a 1 year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a net margin of 57.83% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s payout ratio is 51.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CME. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $229.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.70.

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.