Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 1,411 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,411 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in CME Group by 21,465.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,070,000 after purchasing an additional 483,618 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in CME Group by 698.0% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,384,000 after purchasing an additional 476,019 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in CME Group by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,692,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $241.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $87.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $235.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.36.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

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

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.