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

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $212.64.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on CME Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $193.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $200.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $199.87 and a 200-day moving average of $207.00. CME Group has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 9.79 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total value of $211,520.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,858,336.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total transaction of $1,501,899.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,153,999.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total transaction of $211,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,858,336.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $959,260,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in CME Group by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,403,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,069,806 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309,097 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $253,563,000. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,072,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,575 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.