CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 341 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in CME Group were worth $5,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $248.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $253.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $236.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 47.57%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.