CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from “buy” to “hold,” adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that includes several recent target price cuts and one additional downgrade.
• Analysts now have a consensus “Hold” rating on CME, with a consensus price target of $305.29; the stock has 1 Strong Buy, 8 Buy, 7 Hold, and 2 Sell ratings.
• CME reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.36 versus $3.11 expected and revenue of $1.88 billion versus $1.77 billion expected, with revenue up 14.5% year over year.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Erste Group Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $256.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $289.08 and a 200-day moving average of $288.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group has a 1-year low of $244.56 and a 1-year high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CME. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 78.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,855 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in CME Group by 345.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 237,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,965,000 after purchasing an additional 184,459 shares in the last quarter. Dover Advisors LLC increased its position in CME Group by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 5,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,734 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in CME Group by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 50,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,773,000 after purchasing an additional 12,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,325,000. 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.

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