CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Axa S.A.

AXA S.A. decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 525,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 50,309 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A. owned 0.15% of CME Group worth $122,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,570,000 after acquiring an additional 17,508 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 30,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total transaction of $271,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This trade represents a 25.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,726 shares of company stock valued at $8,975,813. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $283.48. The company had a trading volume of 784,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,153,047. The company has a market capitalization of $102.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company's fifty day moving average is $263.32 and its 200-day moving average is $244.76. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $287.50.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.