Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $737.60 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,676,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 261,910 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $737,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jessup Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 0.8% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $266.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.06.

CME Group Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ CME opened at $276.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $222.56 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $265.86 and a 200-day moving average of $272.29.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.45%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,056,962. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This trade represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 14,043 shares of company stock worth $3,791,486 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.