Leavell Investment Management Inc. Acquires 101 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,248,000 after acquiring an additional 4,661 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in CME Group by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 8,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $986,000 after buying an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $81,000. Finally, Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,323,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer raised 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. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

CME Group Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $241.74 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.62. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. 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 business 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 is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

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