Core Alternative Capital Decreases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Core Alternative Capital cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 12.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,837 shares during the period. CME Group comprises 1.5% of Core Alternative Capital’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Core Alternative Capital’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $1,571,447,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $164,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,695,313,000 after purchasing an additional 532,549 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $133,970,000 after purchasing an additional 485,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $127,103,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CME shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $320.00 to $319.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on CME Group from $307.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.18.

CME Group Trading Up 0.2%

CME opened at $284.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $274.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.05. The company has a market capitalization of $102.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.32 and a 52 week high of $290.79.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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.