CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) is Waverton Investment Management Ltd's 7th Largest Position

Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,064,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 46,233 shares during the period. CME Group comprises about 4.4% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltd owned approximately 0.30% of CME Group worth $282,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,952,273,000 after purchasing an additional 326,623 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,946,717,000 after purchasing an additional 104,697 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of CME Group by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,923,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $1,107,389,000. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $947,821,000 after purchasing an additional 61,908 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James Financial upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.20.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $272.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $98.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $274.96 and a 200-day moving average of $256.28. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.17 and a 52-week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,824. This represents a 35.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry G. Gerdes sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $528,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,207,729.10. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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