Praxis Capital Management LLC Takes Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Praxis Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $901,000. CME Group comprises about 3.2% of Praxis Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of CME Group by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 190,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,065,000 after purchasing an additional 7,670 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $217,656,000. Buckhead Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 3,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $413,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $363,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $291.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $105.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.17 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, 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 sold 48,244 shares of company stock worth $14,598,037 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.