Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,174 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $10,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 9,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in CME Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 162.4% in the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 1,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

CME Group Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of CME opened at $253.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $254.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.07.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy 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.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.