CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 36.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,211 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,494 shares of company stock valued at $7,281,618. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $256.80.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $277.87. 1,389,173 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,176,255. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $286.48. The stock has a market cap of $100.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $266.29 and a 200-day moving average of $247.71.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

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.