Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 8,898 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management trimmed its stake in CME by 12.1%, selling 8,898 shares in Q4 and now holds 64,707 shares worth about $17.67 million.
• Insiders have been net sellers: insiders sold 8,539 shares over the past three months (notably General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares at $333.37), and insiders now own just 0.30% of the company.
• CME raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20, ~1.8% yield), and several analysts have increased price targets, leaving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $309.94 target.

Moran Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,898 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $17,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in 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. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 15,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,368 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,445,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 3,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 2.9%

CME stock opened at $287.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $251.90 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $306.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.38.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on CME Group from $328.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Two research 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $309.94.

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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