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

Key Points

• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold,” based on 18 firms: 11 buys, 4 holds and 3 sells. The average 12-month price target is $291.81, though targets range from bullish calls at $323 to a $245 sell target.
• CME Group exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.99 in EPS versus the $2.91 estimate and $1.71 billion in revenue versus $1.68 billion expected. Revenue increased 0.8% year over year, while net margin stood at 63.3%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, or $5.20 annualized, implying a 2.0% yield and a 44.11% payout ratio.

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $291.8125.

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st.

CME Group Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $259.32 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $249.53 and its 200-day moving average is $280.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a 52 week low of $218.31 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $93.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CME. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

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