Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Acquires 28,155 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4,104.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 28,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,155 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in CME Group by 206.9% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 84.3% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 59.2% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 105.0% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on CME Group from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Argus dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.71.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This trade represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,147 shares of company stock valued at $562,079. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 0.9%

CME Group stock opened at $278.99 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $224.62 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.82. 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 firm has a market cap of $100.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

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.