CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Reaches New 52-Week High - What's Next?

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $286.67 and last traded at $286.48, with a volume of 150653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $284.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CME shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.80.

CME Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $103.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $269.47 and a 200-day moving average of $250.66.

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 return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is 50.30%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,668 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,533,180 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,107,389,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in CME Group by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,923,047,000 after acquiring an additional 3,921,278 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $871,063,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 7,676.3% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,205,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $584,975,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in CME Group by 370.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,653,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $704,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089,935 shares in the last quarter. 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.