Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 24,705 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 24,705 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in CME Group were worth $11,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning grew its holdings in CME Group by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,354 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $637,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company'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 directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.13.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $2.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $248.32. 1,248,642 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,809,854. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $253.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $89.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's payout ratio is 47.57%.

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.