Guinness Asset Management LTD Lowers Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management LTD trimmed its stake in CME Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 31,532 shares and leaving it with 990,979 shares worth about $275.3 million. CME remains the fund’s third-largest holding.
• Insider selling continued, with director Bryan T. Durkin and insider Hilda Harris Piell both selling shares in recent transactions. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,244 shares worth about $14.6 million.
• CME Group reported strong first-quarter earnings, beating analyst expectations with EPS of $3.36 and revenue of $1.88 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a price target around $305.29.

Guinness Asset Management LTD cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 990,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,532 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for approximately 4.5% of Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned approximately 0.27% of CME Group worth $275,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 64.9% in 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. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 191.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 197.4% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,244 shares of company stock worth $14,598,037. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $291.23 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $105.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $257.17 and a one year high of $329.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $296.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Barclays lowered their price target on CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

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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