CME Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CME)

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 40,763 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,501% compared to the typical volume of 2,546 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,147,935. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at $236,000. Militia Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Invst LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth about $817,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,282,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in CME Group in the first quarter worth $29,109,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of CME traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $274.03. 927,163 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,182,019. CME Group has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.75 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.61.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

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.

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