CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,036,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 112,848 shares during the period. CME Group makes up approximately 0.5% of Two Sigma Investments LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.29% of CME Group worth $240,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 108.7% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,453 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $75,730,000 after buying an additional 52,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $548,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1%

CME Group stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $282.00. 1,783,281 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,181,472. 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 P/E ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $267.11 and a 200 day moving average of $248.16. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $286.48.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,884 shares of company stock worth $7,389,843. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.80.

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.