Tower Wealth Partners Inc. Has $432,000 Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Tower Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 67.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the period. Tower Wealth Partners Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.50.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

CME Group stock opened at $254.57 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $258.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $240.07 and its 200 day moving average is $230.85. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.71%.

CME Group Company 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.