Spire Wealth Management Boosts Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 37.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CME. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 valued at $1,072,070,000 after buying an additional 483,618 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 476,019 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in CME Group by 17.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at $79,692,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped 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 lifted 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $244.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $235.20 and its 200 day moving average is $223.49. The company has a market cap of $88.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $249.02.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock 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 generally an indication that the company’s management 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.