CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

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

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

CME Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $234.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.72. The stock has a market cap of $84.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost 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 declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company 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.