CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Union Savings Bank

Union Savings Bank lowered its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank’s holdings in CME Group were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of CME Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 4,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $943,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $232.71 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $249.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $233.29 and a 200-day moving average of $219.93. 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 stock has a market cap of $83.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Bank of America raised their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.