Clear Trail Advisors LLC Sells 4,808 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Clear Trail Advisors LLC reduced its CME Group stake by 13.1% in the first quarter, selling 4,808 shares and ending with 31,864 shares valued at about $9.4 million.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.36 versus estimates of $3.11 and revenue of $1.88 billion, with revenue up 14.5% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 2.1%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $302.24.

Clear Trail Advisors LLC trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,808 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for 1.6% of Clear Trail Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Clear Trail Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $9,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 103.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 121,707 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1,325.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 21,918 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,344,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $245.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $244.56 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The company has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.21. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $278.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.04.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%.CME Group's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $8,438,860.26. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CME. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $302.24.

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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