Chairman & CEO Of CME Group Sold 31% Of Their Shares

Some CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chairman & CEO, Terrence Duffy, recently sold a substantial US$6.1m worth of stock at a price of US$204 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 31%, which is notable but not too bad.

View our latest analysis for CME Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At CME Group

The Independent Director William Shepard made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$8.3m worth of shares at a price of US$170 each. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$199), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 52.77k shares worth US$9.0m. But they sold 72.97k shares for US$15m. In total, CME Group insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like CME Group better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does CME Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. CME Group insiders own about US$246m worth of shares (which is 0.3% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About CME Group Insiders?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of CME Group stock, than buying, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that CME Group is growing earnings. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that CME Group has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

But note: CME Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.