Waverton Investment Management Ltd Raises Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 847,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,200 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises about 3.1% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltd owned about 0.24% of CME Group worth $166,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,451,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,044,821,000 after buying an additional 215,044 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 24.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,403,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,806 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in CME Group by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,072,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,575 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in CME Group by 2.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,793,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,462,678,000 after purchasing an additional 189,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in CME Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,667,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,193,551,000 after purchasing an additional 23,583 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of CME opened at $219.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $203.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.56. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.73.

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.