Monte Financial Group LLC Increases Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Monte Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises about 2.1% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in CME Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $234.68 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current 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 paid a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

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

CME Group 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.