CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Stonegate Investment Group LLC

Stonegate Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Trading Down 1.1 %

CME opened at $234.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

About CME Group

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.