Ibex Wealth Advisors Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Ibex Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in CME Group were worth $10,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced Treasury LINK, a new tool designed to simplify U.S. Treasury spread trading and lower the cost/complexity of popular basis-trade strategies. That could support trading volumes and strengthen CME’s derivatives franchise. CME Group to launch Treasury LINK for enhanced US Treasury spread trading
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also highlighted CME’s product innovation in Treasuries and agriculture markets, which may help diversify revenue and keep the exchange relevant in active trading categories. CME Group’s New Agriculture Index Delivers Unified Price Benchmark for the Global Farm Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target on CME to $270 from $316 and kept an equal weight rating. The new target still implies upside, but the reduction may reflect a more cautious view on near-term growth. Barclays Cuts CME Group Price Target to $270
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest drag is regulatory: the CFTC moved to block CME’s attempt to fast-track 24/7 crude oil futures trading, limiting a potential expansion that could have broadened customer access and trading activity. CFTC to block CME’s plan for 24/7 crude oil futures trading
• Negative Sentiment: Separate commentary said competition and weaker trading volumes are weighing on CME Group, reinforcing concerns that core market activity may be softer than investors want. Competition And Weaker Trading Volumes Are Weighing On CME Group (CME) Stock

CME Group Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $239.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.25. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $218.31 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $283.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $320.00 price target on CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.29.

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.