Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after acquiring an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in CME Group by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,072,000 after acquiring an additional 237,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $437,320,000 after purchasing an additional 26,642 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $236.95 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.43. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $85.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,008. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group 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.