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

Distillate Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,261 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up approximately 1.0% of Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $20,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,453 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $6,144,000. Unified Investment Management purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $503,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in CME Group by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in CME Group by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,862 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $261.54 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $273.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.10. The stock has a market cap of $94.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released 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%. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CME Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $301.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $247.47.

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.