Capital Management Corp VA Sells 895 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Capital Management Corp VA reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 895 shares during the quarter. Capital Management Corp VA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Catalina Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,000. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,570,000 after acquiring an additional 17,508 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 116.8% during the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CME. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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 raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.50.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $254.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $258.78. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released 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%. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

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.