CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Now Covered by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $235.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on CME. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of CME Group from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $212.54.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $218.30 on Friday. 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 $223.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $209.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.57. The company has a market capitalization of $78.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Analysts expect that CME Group will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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 company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently 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.