Markel Group Inc. Has $14.69 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Markel Group Inc. increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 637.1% during the 1st quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 11,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,494,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 31.9% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 2,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 3.6% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 27,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,016,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2%

CME stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $240.27. 1,979,543 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,891,472. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $218.31 and a one year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $87.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $262.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.19.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CME shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. 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 research note on Thursday, April 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.59.

Key CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced new products aimed at expanding trading activity, including Treasury LINK for U.S. Treasury spread trading and a new agriculture index that offers a unified benchmark for the global farm economy. CME Group to launch Treasury LINK for enhanced US Treasury spread trading CME Group’s New Agriculture Index Delivers Unified Price Benchmark for the Global Farm Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley kept an overweight rating but lowered its price target on CME to $324 from $353, while Barclays cut its target to $270 and moved to equal weight, signaling reduced near-term expectations but not a fundamentally bearish view. Morgan Stanley cuts CME price target Barclays cuts CME price target
• Negative Sentiment: The CFTC blocked CME’s plan to fast-track 24/7 crude oil futures trading, a setback that could limit a potentially important new revenue stream and raises regulatory risk around product innovation. CFTC to block CME’s plan for 24/7 crude oil futures trading CFTC Blocks for Now CME’s Plan to Offer 24/7 Oil Futures
• Negative Sentiment: Reports also pointed to weaker trading volumes and rising competition weighing on CME Group, which could pressure transaction-based revenue growth if activity remains soft. Competition And Weaker Trading Volumes Are Weighing On CME Group (CME) Stock

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group 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.