GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of 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. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 note on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $229.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $216.40.

CME Group Trading Down 1.9 %

CME Group stock opened at $212.59 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.93. The company has a market cap of $76.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.49. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.73 and a 52-week high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.58 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.86%.

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.