Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Acquires 5,398 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Braun Stacey Associates increased its CME Group stake by 4.8%, purchasing 5,398 additional shares to own 117,163 shares valued at approximately $25.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 87.75% of CME’s stock.
• CME Group beat quarterly expectations with $2.99 in EPS and $1.71 billion in revenue, while declaring a $1.30 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.8% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with CME carrying an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $288.56; several firms recently lowered their targets or downgraded the stock.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 117,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,398 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $25,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY increased its stake in CME Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $285.80 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The company has a market cap of $102.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $279.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is 44.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut CME Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $288.56.

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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