Keynote Financial Services LLC Sells 45 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Keynote Financial Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in CME Group by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its position in CME Group by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,862 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,432,000 after purchasing an additional 303,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $253.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $254.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.07.

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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About CME Group

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.