Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises approximately 0.8% of Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in CME Group by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 73,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,742 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in CME Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 126,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 3,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $236.52 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $234.73 and its 200 day moving average is $222.63. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their target price on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

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.