Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Has $367,000 Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 29.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 716 shares during the quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $218.48 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $204.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America cut CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.73.

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.