Westpac Banking Corp Boosts Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,295 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for approximately 0.8% of Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in CME Group were worth $11,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CME. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,643,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,190,661,000 after buying an additional 400,737 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,178,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,524,271,000 after acquiring an additional 319,899 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,113,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,091,401,000 after acquiring an additional 363,130 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,920,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $804,823,000 after acquiring an additional 84,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,790,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $769,143,000 after acquiring an additional 44,377 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 14,043 shares of company stock worth $3,791,486 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on CME Group from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.65.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5%

CME stock opened at $285.04 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $267.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.85. The stock has a market cap of $102.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. 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 twelve month low of $222.56 and a twelve month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.45%.

CME Group Company 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.