CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Haverford Trust Co

Haverford Trust Co cut its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,533 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co's holdings in CME Group were worth $16,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME traded up $1.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $263.81. 383,380 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,929,558. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $267.91. The company has a market cap of $95.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.32.

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

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CME. Piper Sandler raised their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.93.

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.