CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 67,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,876 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% during the third 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 acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.93.

CME Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $258.68 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $242.80 and a 200 day moving average of $232.58. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $263.65.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given 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 1.93%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

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.