Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Takes $1.24 Million Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,134 shares of company stock valued at $6,087,434. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. UBS Group upped their price target on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $256.80.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $266.28 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $286.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.54, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $265.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.39.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

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.