Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in CME Group by 2.3%, owning 871,220 shares after selling 20,090 shares in the first quarter.
• CME Group's latest quarterly earnings surpassed analyst expectations with $2.96 EPS and a revenue of $1.69 billion, marking a 10.4% increase year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, with an annual yield of 1.82%, and has a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 871,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,090 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up 1.1% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.24% of CME Group worth $231,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 28.0% in the first quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 4,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 117.8% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 19.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth $15,676,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of CME traded up $2.14 on Friday, reaching $280.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,084,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,369,980. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.62 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $276.14 and a 200-day moving average of $263.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,470. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,400 shares of company stock worth $2,881,130 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.93.

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.