CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis.

CME Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $229.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $230.36. The firm has a market cap of $82.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.07.

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.