CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 41,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,275 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,070,000 after purchasing an additional 483,618 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 698.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,384,000 after purchasing an additional 476,019 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler boosted 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, Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $244.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $235.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.