CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Receives $215.90 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $215.90.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $206.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $196.60 on Friday. CME Group has a 52 week low of $180.11 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $205.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.58. The firm has a market cap of $70.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that CME Group will post 9.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total transaction of $1,501,899.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,153,999.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Second Half Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,737,000. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,823,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,041,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,230,000 after purchasing an additional 23,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,891,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.