Ycg LLC Sells 7,226 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Ycg LLC cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 121,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,226 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises 2.2% of Ycg LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Ycg LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $28,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 24,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $1,510,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in CME Group by 6.8% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,505,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in CME Group by 106.1% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $337,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $260.43 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $263.65. The company has a market capitalization of $93.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. 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 50-day simple moving average of $241.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.60.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Raymond James raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.93.

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.