CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by YHB Investment Advisors Inc.

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 644 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

CME Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $236.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $234.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.43. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. This represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,900 shares of company stock worth $1,336,008 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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 note on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

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.