Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership Sells 1,503 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership cut its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 57.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,097 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,503 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up approximately 0.2% of Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership's holdings in CME Group were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in CME Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised CME Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $301.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $247.47.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $262.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,794,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,142,838. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $273.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's fifty day moving average is $256.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

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.