Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 108.7% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,453 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $6,144,000. Unified Investment Management purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $503,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,730,000 after acquiring an additional 52,862 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $262.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $267.91. The company’s fifty day moving average is $251.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.71.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CME. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. Corporate 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.