Mendota Financial Group LLC Sells 199 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mendota Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 25.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 199 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $229.45 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56.

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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.