Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $45.20 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 194,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,336 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of CME Group worth $45,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after buying an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 70.4% in 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. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,072,000 after purchasing an additional 237,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $437,320,000 after purchasing an additional 26,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup downgraded 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.13.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $245.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $235.82 and a 200-day moving average of $225.25. The company has a market cap of $88.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. 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 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $253.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.