TrueMark Investments LLC Buys 2,226 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

TrueMark Investments LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares during the period. CME Group makes up approximately 1.6% of TrueMark Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. TrueMark Investments LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $8,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Caldwell Trust Co lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CME shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.06.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $293.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $105.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $302.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.88. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $248.53 and a one year high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.59%.

About CME Group

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.