Tower Bridge Advisors Grows Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Tower Bridge Advisors grew its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in CME Group were worth $6,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 24.9% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $220,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 3,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business’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 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. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $253.77 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $254.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $238.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.92. The company has a market cap of $91.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, 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 approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

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.