CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,108 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $22,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME traded up $3.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $266.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,709,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,154,016. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $273.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $258.41 and a 200 day moving average of $241.50. 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 stock has a market cap of $95.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CME. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $252.44.

About CME Group

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.