Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $258.35 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 956,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,032 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of CME Group worth $258,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 176.0% in the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 24.7% in the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 37.9% during the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $264.98 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $225.46 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $273.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.83. The firm has a market cap of $95.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $307.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.06.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.