Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Sells 33,676 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lessened its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,676 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $27,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $313,000. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $644,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,013,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $286,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $1,087,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CME. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ CME opened at $235.92 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $234.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.