CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Keynote Financial Services LLC

Keynote Financial Services LLC reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Keynote Financial Services LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in CME Group by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in CME Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,862 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of CME Group by 41.8% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,432,000 after purchasing an additional 303,169 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $253.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $238.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.07. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $254.40. The stock has a market cap of $91.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.13.

CME Group Company Profile

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.