Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Increases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 88.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $10,493,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $946,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 1,159.5% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,475,000 after buying an additional 13,960 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 4,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $232.71 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02. The company has a market capitalization of $83.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $233.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors 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 positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on 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 stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. This represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 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.