CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Director Daniel Kaye Sells 532 Shares of Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Daniel Kaye sold 532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.17, for a total value of $161,818.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,311,885.21. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $309.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $283.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $110.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.15. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 42.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CME Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $367.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CME Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.44.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $612,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. bought a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $1,513,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in CME Group in the second quarter worth approximately $53,671,000. Haverford Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $13,818,000. Finally, Bowie Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $22,991,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group operates a global marketplace for derivatives and other financial products. Through its exchanges—CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX—it offers futures and options contracts tied to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company also provides clearing and settlement services, market data and related products. Its electronic trading platform, CME Globex, supports access to its markets by participants around the world, alongside its open-outcry and privately negotiated trading services.