Calamos Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Calamos Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $6,144,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 58.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 226,306 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $1,823,964,000 after acquiring an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 41.8% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,432,000 after acquiring an additional 303,169 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of CME Group by 18.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $403,017,000 after purchasing an additional 283,171 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ CME opened at $242.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $249.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $234.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.06.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change 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 authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. Piper Sandler upped their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.