UMB Bank n.a. Acquires 345 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 71,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 345 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $16,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 120.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $232.71 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $233.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.93. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $83.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

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.