CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $283.7143.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CME. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on CME Group from $276.00 to $266.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $281.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

CME Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of CME opened at $267.62 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $266.94 and its 200 day moving average is $271.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group has a 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $96.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.41.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,440 shares in the company, valued at $4,734,436.80. This trade represents a 40.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 206.9% in the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 84.3% during the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 612.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.