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

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $229.27.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised their price target on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 377,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,621,000 after acquiring an additional 2,554 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 27,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,384,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Finally, Markel Group Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

CME Group stock opened at $244.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.63. CME Group has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.