City Holding Co. Reduces Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

City Holding Co. cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. City Holding Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $232.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $233.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.09. The company has a market cap of $83.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

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.