CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC

Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price 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 upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $254.57 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $258.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $91.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $240.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 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%. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.