Ninety One UK Ltd Lowers Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Ninety One UK Ltd lowered its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 257,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,702 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.07% of CME Group worth $59,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 21,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,070,000 after purchasing an additional 483,618 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 698.0% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,384,000 after purchasing an additional 476,019 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $79,692,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $242.53 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $234.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $87.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently 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.