Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $39,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its stake in CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CME. UBS Group lowered their price objective on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.00.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0%

CME opened at $243.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $264.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.70. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $218.31 and a one year high of $329.16. The stock has a market cap of $88.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.37%.

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.