CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded CME Group from “sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with 10 buy, six hold and two sell ratings and an average price target of $314.44.
• CME Group beat quarterly expectations, reporting $3.02 in EPS and $1.74 billion in revenue; revenue increased 10.6% year over year.
• The stock opened at $303.14, near its 12-month high of $329.16, while institutional investors owned 87.75% of shares; insiders sold a net 20,900 shares over the past 90 days.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CME Group from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $367.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CME Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on CME Group from $281.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $314.44.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $303.14 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $280.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.01. The company has a market cap of $108.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 12.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Shepard purchased 293 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 263,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $70,761,551.64. This represents a 0.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Cook sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,018,450.76. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,871,155. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 2,075.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 471.4% in the third quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group's exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.

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