Allstate Corp Acquires 14,342 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Allstate Corp more than doubled its stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter, buying 14,342 additional shares to bring its total holding to 27,494 shares worth about $7.5 million.
• Insiders were net sellers: CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares, while other executives also reduced holdings, and insiders sold 44,044 shares in total over the last quarter.
• CME Group posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.36 and revenue of $1.88 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share payable June 25.

Allstate Corp boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 109.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,342 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in CME Group were worth $7,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its holdings in CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 197.4% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $282.54 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $102.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.23. The company's fifty day moving average is $295.40 and its 200 day moving average is $289.56. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.17 and a 52 week high of $329.16.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.29.

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.

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