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

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $256.80.

Several analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

CME Group Stock Up 0.6 %

CME opened at $267.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $96.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $259.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $273.42.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. CME Group’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,076 shares of company stock valued at $7,399,696. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 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.