CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC lowered its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 175,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,997 shares during the period. Aviva PLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $40,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $4.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $263.11. The stock had a trading volume of 870,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,127,437. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $273.42. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $254.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.79. The company has a market capitalization of $94.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm'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 owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $246.80.

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.