AlphaCore Capital LLC Buys 1,716 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 212.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its holdings in CME Group by 191.9% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in CME Group by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 197.4% in the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,791 shares of company stock worth $12,937,271. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of CME stock opened at $305.12 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.17 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The stock has a market cap of $110.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $297.84 and a 200-day moving average of $288.46.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.29.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.