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

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $209.73.

Several analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays upped 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 report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were 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 $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its position in CME Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $218.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $223.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $204.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.55. The stock has a market cap of $78.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

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.