Sei Investments Co. Sells 36,228 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sei Investments Co. lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,228 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $24,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after buying an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $871,063,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in CME Group by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,671,000 after purchasing an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $262.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $267.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.14.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 purchase 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.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.93.

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.