CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,262 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $8,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,823,964,000 after acquiring an additional 142,692 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,707,000 after buying an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 70.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $492,072,000 after buying an additional 237,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $437,320,000 after buying an additional 26,642 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm'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 value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $236.52. 1,981,697 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,754,316. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.63. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $249.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.