Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $222.17 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 956,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of CME Group worth $222,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 70.4% during the 3rd 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 period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 21,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in CME Group by 698.0% during the 4th 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 period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $244.83 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year 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 fifty day simple moving average of $235.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57.

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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

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.