First Hawaiian Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

First Hawaiian Bank lessened its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth $313,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in CME Group by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 1,664.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 10,637 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 8,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,194,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CME opened at $229.30 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $232.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $82.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $237.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.53.

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.