State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in CME Group Inc. by 8.6% during Q1, now holding 120,913 shares valued at approximately $32 million.
• A number of hedge funds made significant adjustments in their positions in CME Group, with institutional investors owning 87.75% of the company's stock.
• CME Group has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, payable on September 25th, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,913 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,343 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in CME Group were worth $32,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 256.9% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ CME traded down $3.51 during trading on Monday, hitting $270.41. 2,164,956 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,079,104. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $275.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.44 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The firm has a market cap of $97.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CME. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.93.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,390 shares of company stock worth $382,110 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.