Saxon Interests Inc. Raises Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Saxon Interests Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 62.2% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $233.84 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $232.95 and a 200-day moving average of $219.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $84.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Citigroup downgraded 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.