CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Upgraded at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CME. Raymond James raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.93.

CME Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $265.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $267.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $245.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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.