Commerce Bank Lowers Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Commerce Bank reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 162,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,981 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in CME Group were worth $37,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth 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 shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $262.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $94.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $256.78 and a 200 day moving average of $240.16. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $273.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $247.47.

CME Group 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.