Romano Brothers AND Company Invests $828,000 in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Romano Brothers AND Company bought a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $828,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 966.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 value of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $196.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.61. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.11 and a 1 year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for 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%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 9.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.90.

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.