Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Sells 145 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.13.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $247.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $89.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.68. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $253.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

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.