CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give CME Group a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating from 18 reviewers (2 sell, 6 hold, 8 buy, 2 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $305.29.
• CME beat the latest quarter with $3.36 EPS vs. $3.11 expected and $1.88B revenue vs. $1.77B expected, with revenue up 14.5% year‑over‑year and analysts projecting $12.26 EPS for the fiscal year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 ($5.20 annualized, 1.8% yield, 44.37% payout ratio), while insiders have sold 8,539 shares in the last 90 days and own 0.30% of the stock.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $305.2941.

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $289.54 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $303.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a one year low of $257.17 and a one year high of $329.16. The company has a market cap of $104.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in CME Group by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in CME Group by 103.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 121,707 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 1,325.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 21,918 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in CME Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,344,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.