GDS Wealth Management Sells 333 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

GDS Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 333 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 698.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,384,000 after buying an additional 476,019 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $240.65 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $234.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.78. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $249.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

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.