Peterson Wealth Services Cuts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Peterson Wealth Services reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 79.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,842 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in CME Group were worth $541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi raised its position in CME Group by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $548,150,000 after buying an additional 385,225 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 70,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,106,000 after buying an additional 5,773 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in CME Group by 86.0% during the third quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 29,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,896,000 after acquiring an additional 13,512 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 85.2% during the 3rd quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 3,919 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 310.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $290.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $104.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $238.12 and a 52-week high of $293.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $275.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.39.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Argus reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.18.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.