Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Has $954,000 Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5,501.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,466 shares during the quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at about $1,571,447,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in CME Group by 185.5% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,244,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,182,000 after acquiring an additional 808,740 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $164,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,695,313,000 after purchasing an additional 532,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in CME Group by 131,625.5% during the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 486,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,970,000 after purchasing an additional 485,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $275.53 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $224.62 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $99.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $272.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $271.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Citigroup upgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $288.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $263.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.