Elevate Capital Advisors LLC Invests $1.32 Million in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,323,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in CME Group by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its position in CME Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,862 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 58.4% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,441,000 after purchasing an additional 226,306 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. Oppenheimer increased their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated 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 research 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 MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of CME opened at $244.83 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.13. The firm has a market cap of $88.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

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.