M&T Bank Corp Increases Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 55.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 149,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 53,717 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in CME Group were worth $34,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $565,671,000 after buying an additional 996,498 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake 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 worth $554,707,000 after buying an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in CME Group during the third quarter worth $79,692,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.13.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $2.50 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $254.48. The stock had a trading volume of 2,363,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,849,498. The firm has a market cap of $91.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $258.78. The business's 50-day moving average is $239.35 and its 200 day moving average is $230.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.