CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Position Cut by Cibc World Market Inc.

Cibc World Market Inc. lowered its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 63,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,213 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in CME Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $236.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.45. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $85.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

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.