CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $209.73.

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America cut shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $216.99 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $205.69 and a 200-day moving average of $207.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $78.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 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.