CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 798,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 229,932 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.22% of CME Group worth $185,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $247.47.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock traded up $3.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $261.54. 2,756,965 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,138,864. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $273.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $255.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.24.

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 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. Company 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.