IHT Wealth Management LLC Has $1.38 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

IHT Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,462 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 120.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 2.0 %

CME opened at $265.56 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $257.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.07. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $273.42. The stock has a market cap of $95.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. 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 payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of CME Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $301.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given 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 $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.

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.