Baer Investment Advisory LLC Invests $1.26 Million in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Baer Investment Advisory opened a new position in CME Group during the first quarter, buying 4,268 shares valued at about $1.26 million.
• CME’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $3.36 versus $3.11 expected and revenue of $1.88 billion topping forecasts; revenue rose 14.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with CME holding a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $300.94, even as some firms trimmed targets.

Baer Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,261,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 191.9% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. UBS Group restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $300.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $236.60 on Friday. 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 $218.31 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $267.17 and a 200 day moving average of $284.28. The firm has a market cap of $85.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.