CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in CME Group were worth $18,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 110,183 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,588,000 after buying an additional 12,279 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 14,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,332,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in CME Group by 123.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 23,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,378,000 after purchasing an additional 12,815 shares in the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 19,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,458,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $4.44 on Tuesday, hitting $272.36. 1,770,578 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,154,607. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $273.42. The company has a market capitalization of $98.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50-day moving average is $259.12 and its 200 day moving average is $242.41.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,076 shares of company stock worth $7,399,696 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $256.80.

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.