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

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $209.73.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America cut CME Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

CME Group Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $216.99 on Wednesday. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The firm 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $205.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.50.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,451,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,044,821,000 after purchasing an additional 215,044 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in CME Group by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,403,557,000 after buying an additional 3,069,806 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in CME Group by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,072,654,000 after buying an additional 1,172,575 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in CME Group by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,793,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,462,678,000 after acquiring an additional 189,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in CME Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,667,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,193,551,000 after acquiring an additional 23,583 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CME Group

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.