Bearing Point Capital LLC Increases Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Bearing Point Capital LLC boosted its CME Group stake by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,898 more shares and bringing its total to 34,881 shares worth about $9.5 million.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.36 beating estimates and revenue of $1.88 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 14.5% from a year ago.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable on June 25, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a $305.29 average price target.

Bearing Point Capital LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,898 shares during the period. CME Group makes up approximately 1.5% of Bearing Point Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bearing Point Capital LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $9,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in CME Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlatl Advisers LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

CME Group Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $273.54 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.17 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $293.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.51. The firm has a market cap of $99.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced that Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy will present at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange and Fintech Conference on June 4, which keeps the company visible to investors and may reinforce its growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says CME’s planned 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading could attract more institutional crypto volume, which may support future derivatives activity and trading revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CME also lowered margin requirements on gold and silver futures, a move that may help keep trading active during volatile commodity markets but is not clearly a major fundamental catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro commentary from the CME floor highlighted sticky inflation and stronger durable goods data, which could keep Fed policy uncertain and sustain trading activity, but the direct impact on CME stock is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto articles suggesting Bitcoin’s “CME gap” may disappear with round-the-clock trading could reduce the market’s focus on CME-specific weekend price gaps, weakening one of the more visible trading narratives tied to the company’s crypto franchise. Article Title

CME Group Company 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.

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