CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 82.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 29,990 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.'s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% in 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 buying an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $492,072,000 after acquiring an additional 237,800 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $437,320,000 after acquiring an additional 26,642 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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 on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.5 %

CME stock traded up $3.42 on Thursday, hitting $235.92. 1,586,467 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,930,109. 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 has a market capitalization of $85.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The business's fifty day moving average is $234.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.08.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.