Bleakley Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 76.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,593 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $5,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in CME Group by 119.0% during the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 127 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 16.2% during the first quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 409 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 24.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 56,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,970,000 after purchasing an additional 10,906 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 9.9% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 105,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.0%

CME stock opened at $275.08 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.25 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The company's 50 day moving average is $276.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.51. The stock has a market cap of $99.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $260.93.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,300,215. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $270.53 per share, for a total transaction of $69,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,849,763.88. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Profile

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.

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