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

Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,018,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 172,753 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for 3.8% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltd owned about 0.28% of CME Group worth $236,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $6,144,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 326,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,730,000 after acquiring an additional 52,862 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,823,964,000 after acquiring an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in CME Group by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,028,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,432,000 after acquiring an additional 303,169 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CME shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.13.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $248.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $237.10 and a 200-day moving average of $227.69. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $253.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

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.