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

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $217.80.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 966.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $211.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $213.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.42. CME Group has a 1 year low of $175.73 and a 1 year high of $223.80. The company has a market capitalization of $76.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.48.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

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.