Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Has $683,000 Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,021 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,144,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 58.4% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,441,000 after acquiring an additional 226,306 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after acquiring an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in CME Group by 41.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,432,000 after acquiring an additional 303,169 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in CME Group by 18.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $403,017,000 after acquiring an additional 283,171 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $241.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $235.11 and its 200 day moving average is $223.36. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $249.02.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CME shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

CME Group 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.