CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Cut to “Neutral” at Citigroup

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $250.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $255.00. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.53% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on CME. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CME Group from $237.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.00.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $232.50 on Monday. CME Group has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $83.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $217.72.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.