CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Martin Capital Partners LLC

Martin Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,387 shares during the period. CME Group comprises approximately 2.7% of Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,144,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in CME Group by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,441,000 after buying an additional 226,306 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after buying an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in CME Group by 41.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,432,000 after purchasing an additional 303,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of CME Group by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,017,000 after purchasing an additional 283,171 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8 %

CME Group stock opened at $242.53 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

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.