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

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $229.33.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $239.21 on Friday. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $231.77 and a 200-day moving average of $215.95.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.