Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Sells 5,401 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lowered its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,401 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi increased its stake in CME Group by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $548,150,000 after acquiring an additional 385,225 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of CME Group by 8.9% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 70,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,106,000 after purchasing an additional 5,773 shares during the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 86.0% in the third quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 29,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 85.2% during the third quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 3,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Financial Group LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 310.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $306.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $293.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $248.53 and a 12-month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.52 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.71.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 30,248 shares of company stock valued at $8,355,450 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.