CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CME. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $260.93.

CME Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of CME traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $275.08. 1,531,570 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,181,193. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $193.25 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $276.58 and a 200-day moving average of $259.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total transaction of $817,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,824. This trade represents a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at $863,651.04. The trade was a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in CME Group by 206.9% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 122.2% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 612.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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.