Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Increases Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 107,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in CME Group were worth $22,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1,233.3% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock traded up $2.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $214.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,135,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,756,638. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.48. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $175.73 and a one year high of $223.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $211.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.33.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total value of $211,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,858,336.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other CME Group news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total transaction of $211,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,858,336.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,673,946.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,676,444 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.