AlphaQuest LLC Sells 23,247 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 98.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,247 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $60,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $565,671,000 after acquiring an additional 996,498 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 698.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $126,384,000 after purchasing an additional 476,019 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in the 3rd 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded down $0.41 during trading on Monday, reaching $262.94. 2,131,543 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,929,391. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $94.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $267.91. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $246.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.35.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.71%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.