Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,720 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.08% of CME Group worth $65,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in CME Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $265.29 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $267.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $250.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % 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 valued at $6,871,496 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

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.