Fulcrum Equity Management Takes Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 971 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Applied Capital LLC FL raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 5,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,578,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,512,000 after buying an additional 5,074 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 44.5% in the 1st quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $1,021,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $260.93.

CME Group Trading Down 0.0%

CME opened at $275.08 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $193.25 and a one year high of $290.79. The company has a market cap of $99.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.44. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $276.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About CME Group

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.

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