Cantillon Capital Management LLC Has $409.46 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Cantillon Capital Management trimmed its CME Group stake by 11.9% in the first quarter, but still held 1.39 million shares valued at about $409.5 million, making CME its 13th-largest position.
• CME Group posted strong first-quarter earnings, with EPS of $3.36 versus the $3.11 consensus and revenue of $1.88 billion versus expectations of $1.77 billion. Revenue rose 14.5% year over year.
• The company paid a $1.30 quarterly dividend, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.1%, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $292.12.

Cantillon Capital Management LLC reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,386,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 186,671 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises about 2.7% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 0.38% of CME Group worth $409,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,895,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,802,366,000 after acquiring an additional 588,509 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in CME Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,408,747,000 after purchasing an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,523,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in CME Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,924,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,344,776,000 after purchasing an additional 134,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,319,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,179,858,000 after purchasing an additional 222,890 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $245.05 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $258.54 and a 200-day moving average of $282.15. The company has a market capitalization of $88.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.CME Group's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% 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, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 260,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered CME Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.12.

CME Group Company 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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