CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,413 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake 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. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 120.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $247.47.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4 %

CME opened at $262.53 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $94.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $257.19 and its 200-day moving average is $240.42. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42.

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 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 51.71%.

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.