CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Position Lessened by abrdn plc

abrdn plc cut its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 631,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,152 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in CME Group were worth $146,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CME. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 73,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,742 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 27.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 18.9% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 3,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $369,000. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 176,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,973,000 after acquiring an additional 7,784 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $240.65 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.78. The stock has a market cap of $86.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About CME Group

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.