CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $222.73.

A number of research firms have commented on CME. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1 %

CME stock opened at $227.26 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $220.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.23. The stock has a market cap of $81.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,221 shares of company stock worth $3,351,895. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.8% in the 3rd 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 grew its position in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in the 2nd 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. Essex LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Essex LLC now owns 1,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 10.2% during the third 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.

About CME Group

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.