Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 68.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,028 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 21,465.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its stake in CME Group by 698.0% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,384,000 after buying an additional 476,019 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after buying an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $241.81 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $235.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.32. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.58%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on 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 boosted their price objective on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.