Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 5,713.2% during the fourth quarter, buying 125,519 shares to hold 127,716 shares worth about $34.9 million.
• Corporate insiders have recently been net sellers—8,539 shares sold in the last 90 days, including director sales by Dennis Suskind and Bryan Durkin—while institutional investors own roughly 87.75% of the stock.
• CME reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter (beating estimates) with revenue up 14.5%, raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20, yield 1.8%), and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $305.29.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 5,713.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 125,519 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $34,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Trust Co raised 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in CME Group by 64.9% during 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. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,317,117.55. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.29.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $289.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.03. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $257.17 and a one year high of $329.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $303.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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