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

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 11.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,386,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 186,671 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 2.7% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $409,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $245.05 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.25. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $258.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.15. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.18 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CME shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twelve research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.