Leavell Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of CME Group by 9.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares in the last quarter. Fruth Investment Management bought a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in CME Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 71,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,677,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 0.0 %

CME Group stock opened at $241.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $235.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.62. The company has a market capitalization of $87.11 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 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 announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

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.