Bleakley Financial Group LLC Buys 6,671 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 32.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,671 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its holdings in CME Group by 191.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 197.4% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 3.0%

CME opened at $282.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.17 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $295.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.56. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 44.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 target price for the company. 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 two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.29.

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.