Boston Common Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,916 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $7,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in CME Group by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

CME traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $232.71. 1,908,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,567,319. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $233.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $219.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The company has a market cap of $83.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

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.