Eagle Ridge Investment Management Buys 70 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Eagle Ridge Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up 1.4% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 966.7% during 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 during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total transaction of $526,625.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,673,946.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,673,946.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $206.00 to $187.00 in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $197.08. The company had a trading volume of 4,672,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,924,631. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.11 and a 1 year high of $223.80. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $70.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

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.