Fulcrum Capital LLC Increases Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Fulcrum Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 44,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises 2.2% of Fulcrum Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Fulcrum Capital LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $10,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in CME Group by 52.4% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $230.02. 856,043 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,974,364. 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 has a market cap of $82.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.87.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.