Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 129,100 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Two Sigma Advisers LP decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,101,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 129,100 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.1% of Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.58% of CME Group worth $487,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company'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 value of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,884 shares of company stock worth $7,389,843 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.80.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $282.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,783,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,184,866. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $286.48. 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 firm has a market cap of $101.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The business's fifty day moving average price is $267.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 50.30%.

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.