Monte Financial Group LLC Acquires 3,610 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Monte Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,610 shares during the period. CME Group makes up approximately 1.9% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $4,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.07.

CME Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of CME opened at $227.14 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $218.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

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.