KBC Group NV Reduces Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

KBC Group NV decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,619 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in CME Group were worth $21,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 698.0% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,384,000 after acquiring an additional 476,019 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after acquiring an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $234.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The company has a market cap of $84.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $234.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.72.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $5.80 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often 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.