Ceera Investments LLC Sells 219 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Ceera Investments LLC trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. CME Group makes up approximately 1.6% of Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.50.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 sold 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

CME opened at $254.57 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $258.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $240.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

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

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.