CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Sells $211,520.00 in Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total value of $211,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,858,336.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $212.07 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $175.73 and a one year high of $223.80. The company has a market capitalization of $76.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.48.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on CME shares. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 966.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 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.