CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,275 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $244.41 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $88.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $235.20 and a 200-day moving average of $223.49.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

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.