CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 265,441 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 116,433 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.07% of CME Group worth $61,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 52.4% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,615,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 46,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at $2,540,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction 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 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $247.47.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $265.56 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $257.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.71%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CME? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.