Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Has $15.24 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Lighthouse Investment Partners increased its stake in CME Group by 3,105.3% in Q3, buying an additional 54,654 shares to hold 56,414 shares worth about $15.24 million.
• Several large institutions also established or expanded positions—Norges Bank (~$1.57B), Sanders Capital (~$1.01B), Strive (~$636M), Mawer (+107.2% to 1.5M shares) and Viking Global (~$165M)—leaving about 87.75% of CME stock owned by institutions.
• CME beat quarterly estimates with $2.77 EPS and $1.65B revenue (up 8.1% y/y) and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 ($5.20 annualized, ~1.7% yield).

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3,105.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 54,654 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $15,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at about $1,571,447,000. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth about $1,006,932,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $636,487,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 107.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,502,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $406,029,000 after acquiring an additional 777,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $164,648,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $311.40 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $295.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $279.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $248.53 and a 12-month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $303.53.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About CME Group

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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