CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Upgraded at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on CME. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.71.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $317.10 on Thursday. CME Group has a 12-month low of $248.53 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $292.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,248 shares of company stock worth $8,355,450. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CME. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Company Profile

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.