Cullinan Associates Inc. Acquires 15,177 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 614.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,177 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Calamos Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Trust Point Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 16,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,848,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $959,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

CME Group Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of CME opened at $240.65 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.78. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. This is a positive change 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 approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board 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.