Insider Selling: CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) COO Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $3.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $253.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,481,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,837,378. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $258.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $238.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.58.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.13.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of CME Group by 22.3% in the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 216,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,683,000 after acquiring an additional 8,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.