Truist Financial Corp Has $13.75 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Truist Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,291 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in CME Group were worth $13,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CME. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.13.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of CME traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $248.88. 1,769,890 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,566,824. The company has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $253.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

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.