Insider Selling: CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) COO Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

CME Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of CME traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $251.52. 170,285 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,842,350. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $258.78. The stock has a market cap of $90.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50-day moving average is $239.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.06. 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 results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 4.7% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners grew its stake in CME Group by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its position in CME Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 216,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,683,000 after buying an additional 8,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.13.

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.