Harrell Investment Partners LLC Raises Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. CME Group makes up about 1.7% of Harrell Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Harrell Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, United Community Bank bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $272.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $98.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $273.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.94. 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 twelve month low of $192.11 and a twelve month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $81,951.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,767 shares in the company, valued at $6,765,601.39. The trade was a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $790,781.20. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.20.

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.