Maple Capital Management Inc. Sells 828 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Maple Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 64,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 828 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.1% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake 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 period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $253.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $238.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.92. 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 one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $254.40.

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 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership 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 $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

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.