CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• CME Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.68, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.63, while its revenue of $1.54 billion fell short of the projected $1.56 billion.
• The company's stock dropped by 1.7%, and analysts have mixed ratings with an average target price of $283.71.
• CME Group declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing a 1.9% yield, with a payout ratio of 48.40%.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05, Zacks reports. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. The business's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 EPS.

CME Group Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $264.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $95.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $266.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.48. CME Group has a 52-week low of $213.94 and a 52-week high of $290.79.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group's payout ratio is 48.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $303.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on CME Group from $276.00 to $266.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $283.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,459 shares in the company, valued at $68,540,742.21. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 7,580.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 384 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $203,000. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $262,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $293,000. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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