State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its stake in CME Group by 4.3%, selling 4,400 shares and leaving it with 98,344 shares valued at about $26.86 million.
• CME beat expectations for the quarter with $3.36 EPS versus $3.11 consensus and $1.88 billion in revenue (up 14.5% year-over-year), with a net margin of 63.19%.
• CME raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20, yield 1.8%), and the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $305.29; about 87.75% of shares are held by institutional investors.

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,344 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,400 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in CME Group were worth $26,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,661,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,999 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 112,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,914 shares in the last quarter. Brindle & Bay Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $735,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 289,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $79,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $281.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $101.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.17 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.47.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.24 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. 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. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $305.29.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

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

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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