CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $291.8125.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CME. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of CME Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $255.31 on Friday. CME Group has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $92.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $254.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 12.18 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s Q2 results topped expectations, and the stock was reported higher on the earnings beat. US Stock Market: CME shares jump 6% after Q2 profit beats estimates; strong hedging demand boosts results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts noted strong fundamentals and at least one rating upgrade following the earnings release, which can support investor confidence. CME Group: Q2 Earnings Results Lead To A Rating Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Hold rating and kept its $260 target, signaling solid fundamentals but limited upside at current valuation. Neutral Stance Reiterated on CME as Solid Fundamentals Meet Valuation Limits; $260 Price Target Maintained
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America and JPMorgan both maintained bearish/underweight views, even though they slightly raised price targets, highlighting ongoing caution about upside. Analyst price target updates
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so this headline is unlikely to be a real stock driver and does not change the core thesis.

About CME Group

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.