Cantillon Capital Management LLC Has $388.86 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,674,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,622 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 2.3% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 0.46% of CME Group worth $388,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $253.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $238.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $254.40.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. On average, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.13.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.