Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 3,672 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 435,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,672 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.12% of CME Group worth $101,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,952,273,000 after acquiring an additional 326,623 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd 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. Norges Bank bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,107,389,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $871,063,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in CME Group by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,416,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $793,382,000 after buying an additional 819,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of CME traded down $13.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $254.46. The company had a trading volume of 5,818,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,078,836. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $272.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $252.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.18. The firm has a market cap of $91.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

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CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $241.53.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group 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.