CME Group Inc. $CME is CORDA Investment Management LLC.'s Largest Position

Key Points

• CORDA Investment Management trimmed its CME Group stake by 2.5% in the first quarter, but CME remains its largest holding at about 4.3% of the portfolio.
• CME recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $3.36 per share on revenue of $1.88 billion, both topping analyst estimates and showing 14.5% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Despite the earnings beat, some analysts have lowered price targets, and CME faces headwinds from a CFTC block on its 24/7 crude oil futures plan plus concerns about softer trading volumes and competition.

CORDA Investment Management LLC. cut its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,368 shares during the period. CME Group comprises approximately 4.3% of CORDA Investment Management LLC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. CORDA Investment Management LLC. owned 0.06% of CME Group worth $62,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth 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. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in CME Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC grew its position in CME Group by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC grew its position in CME Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

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, 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 value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $240.27 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $262.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $87.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. CME Group's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.24 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $293.59.

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.

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