CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Bought by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Braun Stacey Associates increased its CME Group stake by 7.3% in the first quarter, bringing holdings to 111,765 shares valued at about $33.0 million.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.36 beating estimates and revenue of $1.88 billion topping forecasts; revenue rose 14.5% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share for a 2.4% annualized yield, while CEO Terrence A. Duffy and another insider recently sold shares.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,560 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.1% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $33,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 345.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 237,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,965,000 after purchasing an additional 184,459 shares during the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,122,000. First Bank & Trust acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,325,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its stake in CME Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 140,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,289,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the period. Finally, MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 138.8% during the fourth quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,953,000 after buying an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of CME opened at $221.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.21. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $220.73 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $273.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CME. UBS Group reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $302.24.

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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