CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,107,389,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,671,000 after acquiring an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $223,967,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $262.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $249.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $267.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.93.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.