Monte Financial Group LLC Acquires 368 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Monte Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for 2.1% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.6 %

CME Group stock opened at $234.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $234.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.05. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $249.02. The stock has a market cap of $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About CME Group

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.