Stonebrook Private Inc. Cuts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Stonebrook Private Inc. cut its CME Group stake by 59.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,354 shares and leaving it with 5,075 shares worth about $1.39 million.
• Analysts are mixed on CME, with the stock carrying an average “Hold” rating and a consensus target price of $305.29; recent calls ranged from a Goldman Sachs “Sell” to a Weiss Ratings “Buy (A-).”
• CME reported strong quarterly results and raised its dividend profile, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $3.36 per share and $1.88 billion in revenue, while also declaring a $1.30 quarterly dividend for a 2.0% annualized yield.

Stonebrook Private Inc. cut its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 59.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,354 shares during the quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth 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 purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in CME Group by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its position in CME Group by 191.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $305.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $255.94 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $244.56 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The stock has a market cap of $92.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.21. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $286.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for 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 was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.37%.

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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