Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Boosts Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 123.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,815 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in CME Group were worth $5,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $252.44.

CME Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $3.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $266.30. 1,709,094 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,154,016. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $273.42. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.50.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

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.