CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stake Increased by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 47.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,704 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 70.4% in the third 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 during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings 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 worth $492,072,000 after purchasing an additional 237,800 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $437,320,000 after purchasing an additional 26,642 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $241.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.32. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two 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 of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.