1,055 Shares in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Purchased by Berkshire Bank

Berkshire Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% during 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 last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 1.0 %

CME opened at $236.95 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $234.02 and a 200 day moving average of $221.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The company has a market cap of $85.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CME. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,900 shares of company stock worth $1,336,008. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.