Insider Selling: CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Insider Sells 11,592 Shares of Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $250.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $253.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $235.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,107,389,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in CME Group by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,671,000 after buying an additional 996,498 shares during the period. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $223,967,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.07.

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.