Baillie Gifford & Co. Reduces Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its stake in CME Group by 2.5% in Q4, selling 11,386 shares and ending the quarter with 446,036 shares valued at about $121.8 million.
• Analysts give CME Group a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $308.71, after several firms recently adjusted ratings and targets.
• Insiders sold 8,539 shares worth $2.71 million over the last quarter while institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock (insiders own 0.30%).

Baillie Gifford & Co. lowered its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 446,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,386 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.12% of CME Group worth $121,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Trust Co grew its position in CME Group by 116.3% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in CME Group by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on CME Group from $328.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.8%

CME Group stock opened at $300.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $306.56 and a 200 day moving average of $284.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.26. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $251.90 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

About CME Group

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.

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