CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Coverage Initiated at TD Cowen

TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $221.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America lowered CME Group from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $212.54.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $218.30 on Thursday. CME Group has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $223.80. The firm has a market cap of $78.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.50.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value 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 approximately $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $286,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $9,013,000. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $644,000. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 15.9% during the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 2,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 10.8% in the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 4,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.