CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $301.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.94.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $270.03 on Friday. CME Group has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $97.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $271.33 and a 200 day moving average of $271.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.11%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William Shepard acquired 293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $268.76 per share, with a total value of $78,746.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 263,289 shares in the company, valued at $70,761,551.64. This represents a 0.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total transaction of $4,116,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in CME Group by 48.0% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 2,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $888,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group’s history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.