CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 681,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,361 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.19% of CME Group worth $158,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in CME Group by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its holdings in CME Group by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,730,000 after buying an additional 52,862 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 41.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,432,000 after purchasing an additional 303,169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded up $2.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $250.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,171,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,827,433. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $253.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.68.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" 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 and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.