Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 20,843 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in CME Group Inc. by 11.4%, ending the first quarter with 162,144 shares valued at approximately $43 million.
• CME Group reported earnings of $2.96 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.91, with a revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $5.00 and a yield of 1.8%.

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,843 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $43,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CME. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in CME Group by 89.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,923,047,000 after buying an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its stake in CME Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $947,821,000 after buying an additional 61,908 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in CME Group by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,943,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,788,000 after buying an additional 403,920 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in CME Group by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,135,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $728,260,000 after buying an additional 621,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in CME Group by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,818,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $747,744,000 after buying an additional 648,591 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded up $2.48 on Friday, hitting $280.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,011,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,115. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $276.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $196.62 and a one year high of $290.79.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total value of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,215. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,881,130. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on 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 assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.