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

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $215.90.

A number of research firms have weighed in on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $226.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $206.00 to $187.00 in a report on Friday, June 21st.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,153,999.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,153,999.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total transaction of $526,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,441 shares in the company, valued at $3,673,946.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 966.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $196.06 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $204.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.32. The stock has a market cap of $70.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.52. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $180.11 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group will post 9.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

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.