YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 644 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. acquired a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at $313,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 46,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in CME Group by 62.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in CME Group by 1.4% during the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,773,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 10.8% in the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 4,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,900 shares of company stock worth $1,336,008. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $236.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $85.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.43.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

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.