Concord Asset Management LLC VA Increases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 27,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,197,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,550,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 0.3 %

CME stock opened at $236.52 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $234.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.45. The stock has a market cap of $85.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month 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 declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders 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 was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CME. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.