Sanders Capital LLC Makes New $1.01 Billion Investment in CME Group Inc. $CME

Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,726,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,932,000. CME Group makes up about 1.2% of Sanders Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Caldwell Trust Co increased its position in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.1%

CME stock opened at $311.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $248.53 and a one year high of $329.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $295.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.94.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.52 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a “neutral” rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CME. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.53.

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.