First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its CME Group stake by 3.4% in the first quarter, selling 8,120 shares and leaving it with 233,732 shares worth about $69.0 million.
• CME Group posted solid quarterly results, with earnings per share of $2.99 topping estimates and revenue of $1.71 billion coming in above expectations. The company also reported strong profitability, including a 63.3% net margin.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed despite the earnings beat: several firms cut price targets, and the stock currently carries an average Hold rating with an average target price of $291.81.

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 233,732 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,120 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.06% of CME Group worth $69,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $255.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.25. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $254.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.22.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

Key CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s Q2 results topped expectations, and the stock was reported higher on the earnings beat. US Stock Market: CME shares jump 6% after Q2 profit beats estimates; strong hedging demand boosts results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts noted strong fundamentals and at least one rating upgrade following the earnings release, which can support investor confidence. CME Group: Q2 Earnings Results Lead To A Rating Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Hold rating and kept its $260 target, signaling solid fundamentals but limited upside at current valuation. Neutral Stance Reiterated on CME as Solid Fundamentals Meet Valuation Limits; $260 Price Target Maintained
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America and JPMorgan both maintained bearish/underweight views, even though they slightly raised price targets, highlighting ongoing caution about upside. Analyst price target updates
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so this headline is unlikely to be a real stock driver and does not change the core thesis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut CME Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $291.81.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition 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 business'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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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