Capital International Inc. CA Sells 13,332 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Capital International Inc. CA cut its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 101,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,332 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $23,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of CME Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $301.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $247.47.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4 %

CME Group stock opened at $262.53 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $273.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.42.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.