Mount Lucas Management LP Reduces Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mount Lucas Management LP reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in CME Group by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 24,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in CME Group by 500.0% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its holdings in CME Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 5,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YCG LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. YCG LLC now owns 128,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,365,000 after buying an additional 7,209 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $254.57 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $240.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.85. The company has a market capitalization of $91.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $258.78. 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) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.71%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.50.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.