Mission Wealth Management LP Trims Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mission Wealth Management LP decreased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 60.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,287 shares during the quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $968,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of CME Group by 9.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 785,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,228,000 after acquiring an additional 64,499 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,975,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in CME Group by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.13.

CME Group Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $251.98 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $239.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.89. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $258.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $90.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. On average, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company 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.