HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 2,554 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 377,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,554 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of CME Group worth $87,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,496 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $256.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $92.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The business's fifty day moving average is $241.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.77. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $263.65.

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CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.93.

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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