CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $256.80.

Several research firms have issued reports on CME. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,494 shares of company stock worth $7,281,618. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $1,016,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 88.9% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 6,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in CME Group by 5.9% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 175,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,544,000 after purchasing an additional 9,703 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in CME Group by 10.8% during the first quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 122,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,527,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded down $0.07 on Monday, reaching $277.87. 1,389,173 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,179,996. CME Group has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $286.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $100.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $266.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.71.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. CME Group's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

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.