CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Skylands Capital LLC

Skylands Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 51.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,750 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 70.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 698.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,384,000 after acquiring an additional 476,019 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after acquiring an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth about $79,692,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in CME Group by 41.8% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $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.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $247.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $89.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $237.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.99. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $253.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly 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 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 51.71%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley lifted 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, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

CME Group 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.