CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Insider Sells $1,493,500.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 CME Group shares for approximately $1.49 million, reducing his direct holdings by nearly 20% to 20,037 shares.
• Strong quarterly results: CME Group reported $3.02 in adjusted EPS and $1.74 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 10.6% year over year.
• Mixed market signals: Shares fell 4.7% to $293.48, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $313.29. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.30, equivalent to a 1.8% yield.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.70, for a total transaction of $1,493,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,985,051.90. This represents a 19.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

CME Group Trading Down 4.7%

CME Group stock traded down $14.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $293.48. 1,750,176 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,513,866. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $277.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $279.18.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.35 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. CLSA set a $367.00 target price on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $281.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $313.29.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group reported record third-quarter revenue of approximately $1.74 billion and record average daily volume of 29.4 million contracts. October activity is also tracking at the highest October average daily volume on record, supporting the company’s growth outlook. CME Group Slides as Investors Digest Recent Earnings and Mixed Post-Report Signals
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded CME Group to Rank #2, or “Buy,” citing improving optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. CME Upgraded to Buy: Here's Why
• Positive Sentiment: Brazilian real futures traded a record daily volume following Brazil’s election, highlighting demand for CME’s products during periods of political and currency-market volatility. CME Group Brazilian Real Futures Set New Daily Volume Record Following Election
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price targets remain mixed, with a reported median target of $305 and recent targets ranging from $260 to $323, indicating support for the business but limited consensus on near-term upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may be digesting last week’s earnings announcement after a significant share-price run-up. Although results were strong, they may not have exceeded elevated expectations enough to sustain momentum, prompting profit-taking or a valuation reset. CME Group Slides as Investors Digest Recent Earnings and Mixed Post-Report Signals
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 shares worth approximately $1.49 million, reducing his direct holdings by nearly 20%. The transaction is a modest sentiment negative, although one insider sale does not necessarily indicate a change in CME’s fundamentals. Sunil Cutinho Insider Trading Activity

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group by 2,075.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group's exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.

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