Portfolio Design Labs LLC Increases Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,661 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Wealth Services boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 8,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,017,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,323,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 48,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,338,000 after buying an additional 15,704 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

CME Group Trading Down 0.0 %

CME stock opened at $241.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $87.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.62. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $249.02.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.07%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

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.