Aquatic Capital Management LLC Sells 4,799 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Aquatic Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in CME Group by 5.4% in Q3, selling 4,799 shares and leaving it with 83,813 shares valued at about $22.65 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.53, though several firms recently raised targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $340 and Jefferies to $356).
• CME raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (from $1.25), payable March 26, representing an annualized $5.20 payout and a ~1.7% yield.

Aquatic Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,799 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $22,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,307,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,539,618,000 after acquiring an additional 130,698 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $1,571,447,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,300,450,000 after purchasing an additional 130,848 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in CME Group by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,833,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,056,476,000 after purchasing an additional 238,522 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the third quarter valued at $1,006,932,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.53.

CME Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a "neutral" rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $311.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $295.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.99. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $248.53 and a 52 week high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The firm's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group's payout ratio is 46.59%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,248 shares of company stock worth $1,616,700. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

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