CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Sells $2,600,000.00 in Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $265.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $95.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $267.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,453 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of CME Group by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted 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 acquiring an additional 52,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unified Investment Management purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $503,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.