Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 9,451 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,451 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $8,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 21,465.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,072,070,000 after purchasing an additional 483,618 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in CME Group by 698.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,384,000 after purchasing an additional 476,019 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $79,692,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 1.5 %

CME traded up $3.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $235.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,585,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,929,919. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The company has a market capitalization of $85.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock's 50 day moving average is $234.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.08.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $229.27.

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.