CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC

Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in CME Group by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 73,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,742 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 3,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 10.4% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 33,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,443,000 after buying an additional 3,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 12.4% during the third quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 5,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 0.4 %

CME stock opened at $241.64 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $87.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.36. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $249.02.

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

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 issued 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 presently 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lifted 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. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.