Peterson Wealth Services Buys 236 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Peterson Wealth Services increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in CME Group were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 5.0% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 3.4% during the second quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in CME Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,243,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.96 on Thursday, hitting $209.38. 161,277 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,751,463. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.49. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.73 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $214.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.63.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Argus lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.70.

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.