Fiduciary Alliance LLC Has $5.45 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 58.4% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 613,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,441,000 after acquiring an additional 226,306 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its position in CME Group by 149.4% during the second quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 23,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,671,000 after purchasing an additional 14,234 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in CME Group by 18.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,826,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $403,017,000 after purchasing an additional 283,171 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $224,432,000 after purchasing an additional 303,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after buying an additional 142,692 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was 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. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research 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 a consensus price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ CME traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $229.45. 1,650,042 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,093,605. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $232.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.11.

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

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $5.80 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.37%.

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.