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

Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,674,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,622 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for about 2.3% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $388,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,671,000 after purchasing an additional 996,498 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,036,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 7,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $243,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,024,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $253.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $254.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.07.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Profile

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.