Wells Fargo & Company MN Lowers Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 862,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 56,424 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.24% of CME Group worth $200,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $335,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in CME Group by 29.7% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 20,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,556,000 after acquiring an additional 4,732 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in CME Group by 287.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 186,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,175,000 after acquiring an additional 138,412 shares in the last quarter. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CME. Bank of America raised their price objective on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.53.

CME Group Trading Down 5.2 %

CME stock opened at $254.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $91.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.31. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $273.42.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.