Mather Group LLC. Boosts Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 197.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CME. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $193.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total transaction of $130,936.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,821,771.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other CME Group news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total value of $130,936.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,821,771.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,455,401 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $2.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $204.66. 942,042 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,962,896. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $223.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $197.91 and a 200-day moving average of $206.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

CME Group 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.