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

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $229.27.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

CME Group Stock Up 3.0 %

CME stock opened at $248.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $253.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $235.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.91.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. 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 dividend yield of 2.01%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,952,273,000 after acquiring an additional 326,623 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,946,717,000 after purchasing an additional 104,697 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,107,389,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $871,063,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of CME Group by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,416,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,382,000 after buying an additional 819,158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.