Peterson Wealth Services Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 236 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in CME Group were worth $1,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,709,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth about $281,000. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 25,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

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

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Argus increased their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.