Westpac Banking Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in CME Group by 4.6%, selling 1,589 shares and holding 32,666 shares worth approximately $8.67 million after the sale.
• CME Group reported a Q2 EPS of $2.96, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a 10.4% year-over-year revenue growth amounting to $1.69 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, with an annualized dividend of $5.00 and a yield of 1.7%, set to be paid on September 25th.

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,589 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in CME Group were worth $8,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 3.5% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 4,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.7% during the first quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 19,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,230,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,510 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 34,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,056,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 16,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,447,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

CME Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $0.78 on Friday, reaching $273.92. The stock had a trading volume of 2,055,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,086,143. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $275.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.16 and a 1 year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 48.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,450 shares of company stock worth $676,663. 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.