Ibex Wealth Advisors Increases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Ibex Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in CME Group were worth $10,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $239.71 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $86.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $263.60 and its 200 day moving average is $283.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on CME shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.29.

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

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.