CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Purchased by Summit Trail Advisors LLC

Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in CME Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on 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 objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $241.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $87.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $235.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Company 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.