GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 4,740 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 15.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $10,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.24.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 2.9%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $225.00 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $274.65 and its 200-day moving average is $286.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.40 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $81.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.21.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.37%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.