CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded CME Group from a "sell" to a "hold," while the broader analyst consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $309.94.
• CME's latest quarter slightly beat expectations with EPS of $2.77 (vs. $2.75) and revenue of $1.65B (vs. $1.64B), reporting a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%; analysts forecast about 10.49 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Shares opened at $287.65 (down 2.9%), trading in a one-year range of $251.90–$329.16 with a market cap of $103.16B, and insiders sold 8,539 shares valued at roughly $2.71M in the last quarter.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

CME has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $309.94.

CME Group Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $287.65 on Friday. CME Group has a one year low of $251.90 and a one year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $306.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $285.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.26.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Caldwell Trust Co raised its position in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 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.

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