CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• CME Group Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from 16 research firms, with a target price averaging $261.93.
• The company reported $2.96 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and achieving a 10.4% revenue increase compared to the previous year.
• CME Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25, contributing to a 1.8% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 48.40%.

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $261.93.

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $298.00 target price on shares of CME Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME traded up $2.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $280.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,011,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $101.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group has a twelve month low of $196.62 and a twelve month high of $290.79. The business's fifty day moving average price is $276.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.14.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,470. The trade was a 5.49% 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, Director Charles P. Carey sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.35, for a total transaction of $132,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,215. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,881,130 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the first quarter worth $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in CME Group by 206.9% in the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 84.3% in the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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.