Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Trims Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lowered its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 119,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,060 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises about 1.8% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $27,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 11.8% during the 3rd 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. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 4,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $229.33. 901,782 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,855,938. The stock has a market cap of $82.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $232.44 and a 200-day moving average of $218.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $5.80 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $237.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.53.

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.