CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lowered its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.13.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $247.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $89.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $253.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management 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 paid a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.71%.

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.