Fiduciary Alliance LLC Acquires 3,571 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,571 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 52.4% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $229.90. 179,358 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,872,569. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $232.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.87. The company has a market cap of $82.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lifted their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company 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.