Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management cut its CME Group stake by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 362,253 shares and leaving it with 1,140,499 shares valued at about $311.4 million.
• CME Group’s stock fell 5.8% and was trading near its 12-month low, while the company continues to show solid fundamentals with a P/E of 21.99 and strong institutional ownership of 87.75%.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.36 EPS on $1.88 billion in revenue, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share payable June 25 for a 2.0% yield.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,140,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 362,253 shares during the period. CME Group makes up about 1.7% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.32% of CME Group worth $311,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $9,802,366,000 after purchasing an additional 588,509 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,523,241,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,300,450,000 after purchasing an additional 130,848 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,006,932,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,381,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $913,548,000 after purchasing an additional 20,213 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Down 5.8%

CME stock opened at $257.76 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $292.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.45. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.17 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the sale, the general counsel directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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