Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC Reduces Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $2,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 108.7% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,949,000 after buying an additional 6,453 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in CME Group by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its stake in CME Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,730,000 after buying an additional 52,862 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in CME Group by 41.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,432,000 after buying an additional 303,169 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $259.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.97. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $263.65.

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

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.