Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA Acquires New Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA bought a new position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $959,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $236.52 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $234.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.63. The company has a market cap of $85.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is an increase from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.

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