CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CMEGet Free Report) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $214.22.

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on CME Group

CME Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $217.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a 52 week low of $174.01 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $206.86 and its 200 day moving average is $208.60.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CMEGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a net margin of 57.83% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 49.61%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Derek Sammann sold 10,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.50, for a total transaction of $2,355,160.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $410,571. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 5,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.37, for a total value of $1,203,017.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 62,452 shares in the company, valued at $13,512,739.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Derek Sammann sold 10,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.50, for a total value of $2,355,160.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $410,571. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,103 shares of company stock worth $3,971,672 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,451,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,044,821,000 after purchasing an additional 215,044 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 3.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,950,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,955,461,000 after buying an additional 555,878 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of CME Group by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,072,654,000 after buying an additional 1,172,575 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of CME Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,739,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,683,012,000 after buying an additional 50,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of CME Group by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,174,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,699,995,000 after buying an additional 951,953 shares in the last quarter. 85.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CME Group

(Get Free Report

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)

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