Catalina Capital Group LLC Has $239,000 Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after buying an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in CME Group by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after acquiring an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in CME Group by 11.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,072,000 after purchasing an additional 237,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $437,320,000 after purchasing an additional 26,642 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $240.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 5.37 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $234.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.78.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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