CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Bought by Portfolio Design Labs LLC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,661 shares during the quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in CME Group by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $241.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $235.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.