Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $222.17 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 956,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $222,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on CME shares. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $244.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $88.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $235.34 and its 200-day moving average is $223.63. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.