Cantillon Capital Management LLC Has $429.56 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Cantillon Capital Management increased its stake in CME Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, holding 1,573,017 shares worth about $429.6 million. CME now makes up roughly 2.3% of the fund’s portfolio and is its 18th-largest position.
• CME Group reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, posting EPS of $3.36 versus estimates of $3.11 and revenue of $1.88 billion versus $1.77 billion expected. Revenue rose 14.5% from a year earlier, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 12.28.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable June 25, for an annualized yield of about 2.0%. Meanwhile, insiders sold shares recently, and Wall Street’s consensus rating on the stock remains Hold with a $305.29 price target.

Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,573,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,844 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 2.3% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned 0.44% of CME Group worth $429,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Family Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,147,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in CME Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1248 Management LLC increased its position in CME Group by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $257.40 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $288.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.67. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $244.56 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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