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

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lessened its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 77.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,401 shares during the quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $1,571,447,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $636,487,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 107.2% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,502,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,029,000 after purchasing an additional 777,571 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth about $164,648,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,695,313,000 after purchasing an additional 532,549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $306.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.26. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $248.53 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $110.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.24.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CME. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.71.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,248 shares of company stock valued at $8,355,450. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group 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.