Egerton Capital UK LLP Sells 4,996 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Egerton Capital UK LLP trimmed its CME Group stake slightly in the fourth quarter, selling 4,996 shares and ending with 1,179,792 shares worth about $322.2 million. CME still made up 3.5% of the fund’s portfolio and remained its 11th-largest holding.
• Insider selling picked up recently, including CEO Terrence A. Duffy selling 35,000 shares and General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus selling 3,291 shares. Insiders sold a total of 44,044 shares worth $13.3 million over the last quarter.
• CME Group beat quarterly expectations with Q1 earnings of $3.36 per share versus $3.11 expected and revenue of $1.88 billion versus $1.77 billion expected. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable June 25, for a 2.0% annualized yield.

Egerton Capital UK LLP lowered its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,179,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,996 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises 3.5% of Egerton Capital UK LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Egerton Capital UK LLP owned 0.33% of CME Group worth $322,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $9,802,366,000 after purchasing an additional 588,509 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,523,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in CME Group by 2.8% in 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 buying an additional 134,242 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,300,450,000 after buying an additional 130,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in CME Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,197,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,146,593,000 after acquiring an additional 87,411 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $257.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $288.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.67. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $244.56 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. 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 (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

CME Group 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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