Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 16,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,500,000. CME Group accounts for about 2.0% of Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 16,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,417,000 after buying an additional 6,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 3,105.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 56,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,242,000 after buying an additional 54,654 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8%

CME Group stock opened at $313.83 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $248.53 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $296.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.39. The company has a market capitalization of $113.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CME. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on CME Group from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.06.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,317,117.55. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 5,248 shares of company stock worth $1,616,700 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.