CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Hits New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $253.53 and last traded at $248.18, with a volume of 420017 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $241.74.

The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,107,389,000. LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $822,000. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 23,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after buying an additional 6,136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $89.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.91.

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.