CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by IRON Financial LLC

IRON Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises about 7.7% of IRON Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. IRON Financial LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $13,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $236.95 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $234.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $85.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,900 shares of company stock worth $1,336,008 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

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.