Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Sells 5,070 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 171,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,070 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for 1.8% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $39,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake 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 valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.3% in the third 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 last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $232.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $233.29 and its 200 day moving average is $220.09. 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.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The company 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 in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

CME Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Company 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.