Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,368,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,884 shares of company stock worth $7,389,843. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $256.80.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of CME opened at $282.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $286.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $267.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

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.