Matrix Trust Co Sells 169 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Matrix Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 169 shares during the quarter. Matrix Trust Co’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after acquiring an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of CME Group by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,004 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $229.20 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.87. 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. The firm has a market cap of $82.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $237.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lowered 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.53.

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.