CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $314.44.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $281.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the purchase, the director owned 263,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. This represents a 0.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.70, for a total value of $1,493,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,985,051.90. This represents a 19.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 20,900 shares of company stock worth $5,871,155 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH purchased a new position in CME Group during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 471.4% in the third quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $303.14 on Monday. CME Group has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $280.34 and its 200 day moving average is $280.01. The company has a market cap of $108.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.66%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group’s exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.