CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 193.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,696 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $240.65 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.78. 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 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $5.80 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board 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.