Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 56 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $313,000. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Sepio Capital LP grew its stake in CME Group by 26.3% in the second quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 4,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 287.0% in the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 7,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 5,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 501.1% during the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 52,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,312,000 after purchasing an additional 43,724 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,008 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $234.68 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.43.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CME. Citigroup cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

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.