Claro Advisors LLC Takes Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,771,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $1.09 on Friday, hitting $228.32. 1,203,009 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,941,867. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $230.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.28.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $220.07.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Company Profile

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.