Y.D. More Investments Ltd Raises Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 129.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its stake in CME Group by 2.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in CME Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $241.64 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02. 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 stock has a market cap of $87.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.36.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.