Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 50,402 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management increased its stake in CME Group by 41%, buying 50,402 shares to hold 173,236 shares valued at about $46.8 million according to its latest 13F filing.
• Insider selling has been notable recently — company insiders sold 5,248 shares worth roughly $1.62 million over the past 90 days (directors Suskind and Durkin among them), leaving insiders with just 0.30% ownership.
• CME slightly beat quarterly EPS expectations ($2.77 vs. $2.75) with revenue up 8.1% year-over-year, raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 ($5.20 annualized, ~1.7% yield), and currently carries a consensus analyst rating of Hold with an average price target of $303.53.

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 50,402 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $46,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Caldwell Trust Co lifted its stake in CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 owned 43,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,248 shares of company stock worth $1,616,700. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a "neutral" rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $311.40 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $248.53 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $295.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $279.06.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

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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