KBC Group NV Sells 20,619 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,619 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in CME Group were worth $21,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.8 %

CME traded down $1.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $232.50. 1,640,433 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,949,202. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $83.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $234.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.01. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in 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 generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $229.27.

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.