IRON Financial LLC Decreases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

IRON Financial LLC reduced its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for about 7.7% of IRON Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. IRON Financial LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $13,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CME. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in CME Group by 21,465.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,070,000 after purchasing an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 698.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,384,000 after purchasing an additional 476,019 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth about $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CME. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Up 1.0 %

CME stock opened at $236.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.43. The company has a market cap of $85.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,131,291.92. This represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,008. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.