Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Sells 598 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 598 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in CME Group were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in CME Group by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,862 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,441,000 after purchasing an additional 226,306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of CME opened at $244.83 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $235.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.13. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The company has a market capitalization of $88.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.