Godsey & Gibb Inc. Takes Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Godsey & Gibb Inc. acquired a new stake of 67,069 shares of CME Group in Q4, valued at approximately $18.315 million.
• CME Group beat Q4 estimates with $2.77 EPS and $1.65B revenue (up 8.1% YoY), raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 ($5.20 annual, 1.8% yield), and has a market cap of about $103.16B (P/E 25.78).
• Institutional investors own 87.75% of the stock and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $309.94, while insiders have sold roughly 8,539 shares (~$2.7M) in the last 90 days.

Godsey & Gibb Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 67,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $18,315,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caldwell Trust Co grew its position in shares of 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 grew its position in shares of 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 position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of 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.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $287.65 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $251.90 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $306.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group's payout ratio is 46.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $347.00 to $340.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $309.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at $13,317,117.55. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About CME Group

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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