CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lowered its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 754 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in CME Group by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 22,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,037,000 after acquiring an additional 7,214 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,262,000 after acquiring an additional 9,905 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,667,000 after acquiring an additional 7,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 11,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,484,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $263.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $246.50 and its 200-day moving average is $234.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $267.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

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.