CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Position Reduced by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in CME Group by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,670 shares and leaving it with 37,527 shares valued at about $10.25 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with CEO Terrence A. Duffy and General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus both reducing their holdings; insiders sold 44,044 shares worth roughly $13.3 million over the last 90 days.
• CME Group reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $3.36 versus $3.11 expected and revenue of $1.88 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share.

Employees Retirement System of Texas lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,670 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in CME Group were worth $10,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 191.9% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 197.4% in the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. TD Cowen cut their price target on CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

CME Group Stock Down 3.0%

CME opened at $282.54 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.17 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $102.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.23. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $295.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.37%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.