CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Compass Wealth Management LLC

Compass Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,144,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 58.4% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,441,000 after purchasing an additional 226,306 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 41.8% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,432,000 after buying an additional 303,169 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,017,000 after acquiring an additional 283,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $234.68 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $234.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.05. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The company has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid 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 payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

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.