GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Makes New Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,222,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $959,260,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $253,563,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in CME Group by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,072,654,000 after buying an additional 1,172,575 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in CME Group by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $972,863,000 after buying an additional 1,163,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $113,772,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $217.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total value of $130,936.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,821,771.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of CME opened at $197.13 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.97 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The firm has a market cap of $70.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

CME Group 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.