Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $9.40 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,609 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 21,465.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 485,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in CME Group by 698.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,384,000 after buying an additional 476,019 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 17.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,707,000 after buying an additional 380,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in CME Group during the third quarter worth $79,692,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $244.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $235.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.49. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The firm has a market cap of $88.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.