Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 965,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,065 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.27% of CME Group worth $285,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in 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. Sovran Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CME stock opened at $246.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $259.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.38. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $89.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of CME Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.12.

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.