CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,618 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 83 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 stock in a transaction on 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 owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.13.

CME Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $250.82 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.30. 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 firm has a market cap of $90.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $253.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.