FY2024 EPS Estimates for CME Group Reduced by Zacks Research

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for CME Group in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, January 7th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $10.18 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $10.21. The consensus estimate for CME Group’s current full-year earnings is $10.22 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CME Group’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.44 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.56 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.50 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.52 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $10.03 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $2.58 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CME. Oppenheimer raised their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.53.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $229.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $232.56 and a 200-day moving average of $218.54. CME Group has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $249.02. The company has a market cap of $82.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after buying an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 11.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after acquiring an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in CME Group by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,004 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,707,000 after purchasing an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.