Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 966.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of CME traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $214.04. The company had a trading volume of 749,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,804. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $214.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.93. The stock has a market cap of $77.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 6.09 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 quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.83% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.58 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued 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 2.15%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 51.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $216.10.

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.