CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,688,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,618 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned about 0.75% of CME Group worth $624,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 108.7% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,453 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,144,000. Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in CME Group by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its stake in CME Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,730,000 after buying an additional 52,862 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $262.53 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $273.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $257.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 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%. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CME Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $301.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $247.47.

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.

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