Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Cuts Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,874 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.06% of CME Group worth $52,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 60.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 72,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,089,000 after purchasing an additional 27,332 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 71,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,677,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 752.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 9.7% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in CME Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.93.

CME Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $262.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.95. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $267.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.