Garde Capital Inc. Has $143,000 Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Garde Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Garde Capital Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $143,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Second Half Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,737,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,823,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,041,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,230,000 after purchasing an additional 23,340 shares during the period. Bluefin Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,891,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 81.4% in the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,588,000 after purchasing an additional 19,985 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $3.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $199.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,373,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,911. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $198.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $71.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.52. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $193.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total transaction of $1,501,899.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,153,999.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at $6,153,999.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,290 shares of company stock valued at $2,957,300 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group 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.