CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Cullinan Associates Inc. reduced its CME Group stake by 20.8% in the first quarter, selling 8,066 shares and leaving it with 30,687 shares worth about $9.06 million.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.36 and revenue of $1.88 billion, both above analyst expectations. Revenue rose 14.5% year over year, and analysts expect full-year EPS of 12.24.
• Insider selling and mixed analyst sentiment have been notable, with CEO Terrence A. Duffy and insider Hilda Harris Piell both trimming holdings. Analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus target price of $293.59.

Cullinan Associates Inc. decreased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 30,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,066 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,523,241,000. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the third quarter worth about $1,006,932,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 746.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,049,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $559,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,491 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $217,656,000. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $164,648,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CME stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day 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 fifty-two week low of $218.31 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $262.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.19. 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 $87.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The firm 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 firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business'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 value 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. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $353.00 to $324.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective 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. Twelve research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $293.59.

More 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

About CME Group

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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