Appleton Partners Inc. MA Acquires 272 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the fourth 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 increased its holdings in CME Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in CME Group by 3.5% in 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. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $244.83 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02. The stock has a market cap of $88.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $235.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.63.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

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.