CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Cut to “Neutral” at Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $244.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a hold rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup lifted their price target on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $217.71.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $221.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $226.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $213.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.83.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 51.3% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its position in CME Group by 13.4% in the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 10,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the period. Finally, HCR Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of CME Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 10,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,264,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.