NewEdge Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth LLC cut its CME Group stake by 30.2% in the first quarter, selling 3,961 shares and ending with 9,145 shares valued at about $2.7 million.
• CME Group posted stronger-than-expected Q2 results, reporting $2.99 EPS on $1.71 billion in revenue, both ahead of estimates, helped by solid hedging demand and sending shares higher.
• Insider and analyst signals were mixed: CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold shares, while a director bought some, and Wall Street currently has a consensus “Hold” rating with a $291.81 average price target.

NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 30.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,961 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $2,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,895,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,802,366,000 after acquiring an additional 588,509 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in CME Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,408,747,000 after purchasing an additional 56,725 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,523,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of CME Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,924,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,344,776,000 after purchasing an additional 134,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,319,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,179,858,000 after purchasing an additional 222,890 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More 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.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ CME opened at $255.31 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $254.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.22. The stock has a market cap of $92.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.25. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $218.31 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CME. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $291.81.

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.

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