Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 6,481 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Chevy Chase Trust trimmed its stake in CME by 3.3%, selling 6,481 shares and ending the quarter with 187,818 shares valued at about $50.75 million.
• CME beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.77 vs $2.75; revenue $1.65B, up 8.1% year-over-year) and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20, ~1.7% yield).
• Insider selling and mixed analyst views: insiders sold roughly 5,248 shares (~$1.62M) over the last 90 days, while analysts remain split — the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $303.53, though some firms have raised targets up to $347.

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,481 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of CME Group worth $50,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Caldwell Trust Co boosted its stake in CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in CME Group during the third quarter valued at $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $311.40 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $295.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.06. 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 market cap of $112.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.CME Group's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a "neutral" rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $809,700. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,248 shares of company stock worth $1,616,700 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CME. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.53.

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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