CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $299.5294.

CME has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $303.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $281.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.30. CME Group has a 12-month low of $244.43 and a 12-month high of $309.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,700. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in CME Group by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 32,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,899,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.