Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $5.16 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 429 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 71,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,677,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $241.74 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02. The company has a market cap of $87.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $235.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.62.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.07%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.