CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $290.79 and last traded at $290.71, with a volume of 1779118 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $289.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.20.

CME Group Stock Down 1.6%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $270.95 and a 200-day moving average of $252.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This trade represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,900 shares of company stock worth $6,147,935 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

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